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.