Frontier and perspectives in molecule-based quantum magnets

The 62nd Fujihara Seminar titled “Frontier and Perspectives in Molecule-Based Quantum Magnets” was held in Sendai, Japan from the 7th to 10th May. The Fujihara Foundation of Science, founded by Mr Ginjiro Fujihara in 1959 to encourage activities in science and technology in Japan, sponsored the seminar. Mr Fujihara was president of the Oji Paper Co., Ltd, and is well known as the “King of paper-making in Japan”. Therefore, the Fujihara Seminars are usually held at Tomakomai in Hokkaido (North Island in Japan), where the Oji Paper Co. Ltd is located. However, the Fujihara Foundation of Science agreed to hold the 62nd Fujihara Seminar in Sendai to support the recovery of the Tohoku area, including Sendai, after the large earthquake, tsunami, and Fukushima nuclear power plant disaster. The total number of participants of the Fujihara Seminars is limited to between 50–100 people because the Fujihara Foundation of Science covers all expenses for the seminar, including travel fees, accommodation, and meals.

The seminar focused on single-molecule magnets (SMMs), single-chain magnets (SCMs) and single-ion magnets (SIMs). Thirty leading scientists were invited from all over the world and their talks covered the syntheses, magnetic properties and theoretical investigations of new SMMs, SCMs and SIMs as well as the future of these fields. The seminar was quite successful and fruitful.

The frontier and perspectives of molecule-based quantum magnets in 2012, based on the Fujihara Seminar, is the subject of this special issue of Dalton Transactions. I hope you will enjoy it.

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