Altermagnetic Metal-Organic Frameworks

TL;DR

This paper explores the potential of metal-organic frameworks as customizable platforms for realizing altermagnetism, a novel class of spin-split magnetic materials with zero net magnetization, advancing spintronics research.

Contribution

It proposes MOFs as tunable platforms to engineer magnetic symmetry for altermagnetism, bridging theoretical concepts and experimental realization.

Findings

MOFs offer precise control over lattice geometry and electronic structure.

Framework materials are promising candidates for altermagnetism.

Addressing experimental challenges is key for practical realization.

Abstract

Altermagnetism has recently emerged as a new class of spin compensated magnetic materials that exhibit momentum dependent spin splitting despite having zero net magnetization. The origin of these electronic signatures lies in symmetry operations that connect opposite spin sublattices while allowing spin splitting in momentum space. While most candidate materials identified so far belong to inorganic crystals with fixed lattice symmetries, the realization of altermagnetism ultimately requires platforms in which magnetic symmetry can be deliberately engineered. In this Perspective, we discuss how metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) provide a unique chemical platform to address this challenge. We first place altermagnetism in the broader context of magnetic and electronically active metal-organic networks, highlighting how reticular chemistry enables precise control over lattice geometry, dimensionality and electronic structure. We then discuss how these features position framework materials as promising candidates for realizing altermagnetism and highlight the key challenges that must be addressed to translate theoretical proposals into experimentally accessible systems. Finally, we critically assess current experimental challenges and outline emerging directions for realizing and controlling altermagnetism in coordination framework materials, which emerge as a versatile and powerful platform for exploring new paradigms in spintronics.