The Multiple Faces, and Phases, of Magnetic Anisotropy

The notion of magnetic anisotropy is very central to the field of molecule-based magnetism, where it is considered to be a key quantity that must be rationalized and controlled in order to improve the performances of, e.g., single-molecule magnets. A rough classification of the magnetic properties is widely done in terms of the qualitative descriptors of magnetic anisotropy: "easy-axis" and "easy-plane". They can be based on different physical properties, in casu: free energy, magnetization, or magnetic susceptibility. However, this degree of freedom leads in some cases, including very simple ones like [V(H₂O)₆]³⁺, to incommensurate descriptions of a system being simultaneously easy-axis and easy-plane, depending only on the choice of the physical quantity on which the descriptor is based. Moreover, it has recently been pointed out that the magnetic anisotropy of a chemical system can be addressed and switched using external stimuli like temperature and magnetic field. These external parameters are, though, not the only ones capable of triggering anisotropy switching for actual chemical systems under experimentally relevant conditions. Indeed, this applies also to pressure, as discussed here. In this paper, we try to illustrate the multifaceted nature of magnetic anisotropy and assist the overview using anisotropy phase diagrams.