Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 4, 2026

Spatial Separation of Molecular Conformers and Clusters
Published on: January 9, 2014
Large orbital magnetic moments of small, free cobalt cluster ions Co[Formula: see text] with n [Formula: see text]
V Zamudio-Bayer1,2,3, K Hirsch2, A Langenberg2
1Abteilung für Hochempfindliche Röntgenspektroskopie, Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie, Albert-Einstein-Straße 15, 12489 Berlin, Germany.
Abstract:
The size dependent electronic structure and separate spin and orbital magnetic moments of free Co[Formula: see text] ([Formula: see text]) cluster ions have been investigated by x-ray absorption and x-ray magnetic circular dichroism spectroscopy in a cryogenic ion trap. A very large orbital magnetic moment of [Formula: see text] per atom was determined for Co[Formula: see text], which is one order of magnitude larger than in the bulk metal. Large orbital magnetic moments per atom of ≈1 [Formula: see text] were also found for Co[Formula: see text], Co[Formula: see text], and Co[Formula: see text]. The orbital contribution to the total magnetic moment shows a non-monotonic cluster size dependence: The orbital contribution increases from a local minimum at n = 2 to a local maximum at n = 5 and then decreases with increasing cluster size. The 3d spin magnetic moment per atom is nearly constant and is solely defined by the number of 3d holes which shows that the 3d majority spin states are fully occupied, that is, 3d hole spin polarization is 100%.
Related Concept Videos
Magnetic Moment of an Electron
Formation of Complex Ions
Atomic Orbitals
Atomic Nuclei: Nuclear Magnetic Moment
Colors and Magnetism
When atoms or molecules absorb light at the proper frequency, their electrons are excited to higher-energy orbitals. For many main group atoms and molecules, the absorbed photons are in the ultraviolet range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which cannot be detected by the human eye. For coordination compounds, the energy difference between the d orbitals often allows photons in the visible range to be absorbed and emitted, which is seen as colors by the human...
Molecular Orbital Theory I

