Topological frustration induces unconventional magnetism in a nanographene

The chemical versatility of carbon imparts manifold properties to organic compounds, where magnetism remains one of the most desirable but elusive¹. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, also referred to as nanographenes, show a critical dependence of electronic structure on the topologies of the edges and the π-electron network, which makes them model systems with which to engineer unconventional properties including magnetism. In 1972, Erich Clar envisioned a bow-tie-shaped nanographene, C₃₈H₁₈ (refs. ^2,3), where topological frustration in the π-electron network renders it impossible to assign a classical Kekulé structure without leaving unpaired electrons, driving the system into a magnetically non-trivial ground state⁴. Here, we report the experimental realization and in-depth characterization of this emblematic nanographene, known as Clar's goblet. Scanning tunnelling microscopy and spin excitation spectroscopy of individual molecules on a gold surface reveal a robust antiferromagnetic order with an exchange-coupling strength of 23 meV, exceeding the Landauer limit of minimum energy dissipation at room temperature⁵. Through atomic manipulation, we realize switching of magnetic ground states in molecules with quenched spins. Our results provide direct evidence of carbon magnetism in a hitherto unrealized class of nanographenes⁶, and prove a long-predicted paradigm where topological frustration entails unconventional magnetism, with implications for room-temperature carbon-based spintronics^7,8.