High-temperature metal–organic magnets

Examples of room-temperature magnets made up of molecular components are rare, despite intense investigation. Their importance lies in their potential to be made and processed in entirely new ways, or to give rise to new breeds of magnets whose properties can be controlled by light or other external forces. Jain et al. now report a new class of hybrid metal–organic materials that exhibit magnetic ordering well above room temperature. The precise structure of these materials has yet to be elucidated, but the versatility of their solution-based synthesis route suggests that it should be possible to prepare a wide range of analogous magnets.