Theoretical Evaluation of [V^IV(α-C₃S₅)₃]^2- as Nuclear-Spin-Sensitive Single-Molecule Spin Transistor

In a straightforward application of molecular nanospintronics to quantum computing, single-molecule spin transistors can be used to measure nuclear spin qubits. Conductance jumps accompany electronic spin flips at the so-called anticrossings between energy levels, which take place only at specific magnetic fields determined by the nuclear spin state. To date, the only molecular hardware employed for this technique has been the terbium(III) bis(phthalocyaninato) complex. Here we explore theoretically whether a similar behavior is expected for a highly stable molecular spin qubit, the vanadium tris-dithiolate complex [V^IV(α-C₃S₅)₃]^2-. We consider such a molecule between two gold electrodes and determine the spin-dependent conductance. We verify that the transport channel in experimental conditions does not overlap with the occupied spin orbitals, indicating that the spin states may survive in the conduction regime. We validate the robustness of the theoretical methodology by studying two chemically related vanadium complexes and offer some criteria to guide the experiments.