Predicting Magnetic Barriers in Lanthanide Complexes with Electrostatic Potential Charges

Single-molecule magnets (SMMs) with slow relaxation of magnetization and blocking temperatures above that of liquid nitrogen are essential for practical applications in high-density data storage devices and quantum computers. A rapid and accurate prediction of the effective magnetic relaxation barrier (Ueff) is needed to accelerate the discovery of high-performance SMMs. Using density functional theory and multireference calculations, we explored correlations between Ueff, partial atomic charges, and the anisotropic barrier for a series of sandwich-type lanthanide complexes containing cyclooctatetraene, substituted cyclopentadiene, phospholyl, boratabenzene, or borane ligands. Our results show a correlation between the electrostatic potential charge of the lanthanide ion in the complex and Ueff. Systematic ligand modifications show that reducing ligand nucleophilicity and incorporating soft bases enhance magnetic anisotropy and Ueff values. This work identifies a correlation to predict Ueff values and optimization of ligand coordination environments in lanthanide-based SMMs.