PiMag

Open-shell nanographenes are very promising both for spin-based quantum technologies on one hand, and as building blocks of artificial spin lattices with very strong quantum fluctuations on the other hand. In this project we shall combine rational chemical synthesis, Scanning Tunneling Microscopy (STM), spectroscopy (STS), single spin electron paramagnetic resonance (STM-EPR), atom manipulation and advanced theoretical physics and quantum chemistry methods to pave the way towards several groundbreaking applications, including spin qubits, spin quantum sensors and quantum simulation. Within a highly interdisciplinary team, PiMag targets the following ambitious goals. First, we develop novel synthetic routes that permit preparation of atomically precise nanographenes on insulating layers. Second, we set the stage for single spin readout based on STM-EPR and explore the spin properties of nanographenes with unprecedented atomic resolution. Third, we explore ð-electron quantum magnetism by probing decoherence times and the fine structure of nanographenes with a total spin larger than zero. Fourth, we demonstrate chemical engineering of exchange coupling in nanographenes with covalently linked phenalenyl and triangulene subunits.