# A Note on Why Low-Symmetry Lanthanide Clusters Can Be Good Single Molecule Magnets

## TL;DR

This paper explains why certain lanthanide clusters with low symmetry can act as single molecule magnets, despite previous assumptions about magnetic anisotropy.

## Contribution

A semiclassical treatment of ligand fields in lanthanide clusters is introduced to explain their SMM behavior.

## Key findings

- Low-symmetry lanthanide clusters can show strong SMM behavior due to ligand field effects.
- The semiclassical model aligns with observations in large total angular momentum J systems.
- Quantum corrections are minimal in the semiclassical regime.

## Abstract

Lanthanide complexes
with a low-symmetry ligand environment
are
frequently observed to exhibit good single molecule magnet (SMM) behavior,
which is seemingly at odds with the established understanding that
strong Ising-type magnetic anisotropy is essential. This and other
paradoxical features of such clusters are shown to follow naturally
from a semiclassical treatment of the ligand field, which becomes
valid in the limit of large total angular momentum J. Quantum corrections are discussed qualitatively. The resulting
physical picture offers clear insight into a broad class of lanthanide-based
SMMs.