Scientists discover magnetic superatom

Scientists, including some from an Allahabad-based institute, have discovered a 'magnetic superatom' which could shrink the size of many electronic devices like computers, make them faster and pack more storage space.

The magnetic superatom -- a stable cluster of atoms that can mimic different elements of the periodic table -- may have potential biomedical applications such as sensing, imaging and drug delivery.

The newly discovered cluster, consisting of one vanadium and eight cesium atoms, acts like a tiny magnet that can mimic a single manganese atom in magnetic strength while preferentially allowing electrons of specific spin orientation to flow through the surrounding shell of cesium atoms.

The study, led by Shiv Khanna, physics professor, Virginia Commonwealth University along with collaborators at the Harish-Chandra Research Institute, Allahabad and Naval Research Laboratory in the US, was published in Nature.

Scientists Prasenjit Sen and Kalpataru Pradhan of HRI and their teammates performed an elaborate set of theoretical calculations to study the properties of clusters containing a single vanadium atom and a number of cesium atoms.

They found that when the cluster had eight cesium atoms, it acquired extra stability due to a filled electronic state.

An atom is in a stable configuration when its outermost shell is full. Consequently, when an atom combines with other atoms, it tends to lose or gain valence electrons to acquire a stable configuration.

The researchers believe that the superatom can have significant impact in the area of molecular electronics and spintronics in which attempts are made to use conducting properties of small molecules to design electronic devices.

Such molecular devices are expected to help make non-volatile data storage, denser integrated devices, higher data processing among other benefits.

The researchers have proposed that by combining gold and manganese, one can make other superatoms that have magnetic moment but will not conduct electricity. These superatoms may have potential application in healthcare.

HRI is a research institute under the Department of Atomic Energy involved in studies in the fields of mathematics and theoretical physics, including theoretical condensed matter physics and materials science.