Steering Metallofullerene Electron Spin in Porous Metal-Organic Framework

Paramagnetic endohedral fullerenes are ideal candidates for quantum information processing and high-density data storage due to their protected spins with particularly high stability. Herein, we report a solid spin system based on a paramagnetic metallofullerene Y2@C79N through incarcerating it into the cage-shaped pores of a metal-organic framework (MOF-177). In this kind of guest and host complex, the Y2@C79N molecules inside the pores of MOF crystal show axisymmetric paramagnetic property. It was found that the pores of MOF-177 crystal play an important role in dispersing the Y2@C79N molecules as well as in steering their electron spin. The group of arranged Y2@C79N molecules and their electron spins in MOF crystals are potential quantum bits for quantum information science and data storage. Moreover, this kind of solid spin system can be used as a probe for nanoscale nuclear magnetic resonance or for motion imaging of a single biomolecule.