Qubit crossover in the endohedral fullerene Sc3C2@C80

Abstract

The core–shell structure of endohedral fullerenes results in good protection of the encapsulated spin carriers from the environment. In this research, the quantum coherence behavior of the endohedral fullerene Sc₃C₂@C₈₀ in CS₂ solution is characterized from 5 K to room temperature. Below the critical temperature of around 140 K, the inner group is hindered, and the EPR spectrum consists of a single broad line. The spin carriers display a maximum phase memory time of 17.2(7) μs at 10 K. In the high temperature region, the inner group is mobile, and the EPR spectrum consists of 22 homogeneously broadened lines due to isotropic hyperfine coupling. The maximum phase memory time for each transition is around 139(1) ns at 200 K which allows arbitrary superposition state manipulations to be performed. This research demonstrates that Sc₃C₂@C₈₀ displays temperature-crossover behaviour due to weak interaction between the Sc₃C₂ core and the C₈₀ shell.