Observation of field-dependent magnetic parameters in the magnetic molecule { Ni4 Mo12 }

Abstract

We investigate the bulk magnetic, electron paramagnetic resonance, and magneto-optical properties of { Ni4 Mo12 }, a magnetic molecule with antiferromagnetically coupled tetrahedral NiII in a diamagnetic molybdenum matrix. The low-temperature magnetization exhibits steps at irregular field intervals, a result that cannot be explained using a Heisenberg model even if it is augmented by magnetic anisotropy and biquadratic terms. Allowing the exchange and anisotropy parameters to depend on the magnetic field provides the best fit to our data, suggesting that the molecular structure (and thus the interactions between spins) may be changing with applied magnetic field. © 2006 The American Physical Society.