Chiral molecular 4f qubits by post functionalization
Abstract
We herein demonstrate the synthesis of a pair of enantiomerically pure YbIII complexes by post-functionalisation of the parent YbIII complex via condensation with an enantiomerically pure chiral amine. The enantiomeric pair is structurally characterised by single crystal and powder X-ray diffraction, showing that it crystalises in the P212121 Sohncke space group with Flack parameters close to zero, which confirms their enantiopurity. Circular Dichroism (CD) and absorption spectroscopies in the NIR reveal sharp 2F7/2 → 2F5/2 f–f transitions, with gabs values up to 0.07, indicating a chiral environment for the ytterbium centre. Furthermore, a dynamic mechanism with mixing of ligand states is shown to contribute to the CD intensity. X-band pulse Electron Paramagnetic Resonance spectroscopy, on a magnetically dilute single crystal containing 1% of YbIII complexes within the isostructural YIII diamagnetic host, reveals a phase memory time, Tm, of the electronic spin of 600 ns and that it can be coherently manipulated by microwave pulses, as evidenced by Rabi nutations.
- This article is part of the themed collection: 2025 Inorganic Chemistry Frontiers HOT articles