Stabilizing Indeno[1,2‐ <i>a</i> ]Fluorene: The Only Ferromagnetic Diradical of Indenofluorene Isomers
ABSTRACT Among five indenofluorene regioisomers, only indeno[1,2‐ a ]fluorene is predicted to be a triplet diradical but has eluded unambiguous structural identification due to inherent instability. Here, we report the solution synthesis of a stabilized indeno[1,2‐ a ]fluorene derivative showing long persistence in ambient air (half‐life of ca. 29 h in solution and around 30 days in the solid state), achieved by simultaneously introducing more steric‐hindering groups and strongly electron‐withdrawing substituents. Single‐crystal X‐ray diffraction confirms its planar polycyclic framework, with a substantial contribution from the benzenoid diradical resonance. Magnetic characterizations by continuous‐wave/pulsed EPR spectroscopy and SQUID magnetometry experimentally prove a triplet ground state with strong ferromagnetic coupling (Δ E S‐T ≥ 2.2 kcal/mol; J / k B ≥ 550 K). Meanwhile, the compactly distributed spin population endows the diradical with an unusually large and significantly rhombic zero‐field splitting ( D = –757 MHz, E = 102 MHz). Together with long spin relaxation times ( T 1 = 19.3 ms and T m = 3.09 µs at 10 K), such properties provide a promising basis for future low‐field clock‐transition and coherent spin‐manipulation studies. As importantly, IF‐NO 2 demonstrates how molecular design can effectively tune the persistence and magnetic properties of high‐spin organic radicals, offering a platform for further exploration in the molecular quantum and spintronic fields.
Authors
- Dahui Zhao (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4983-4060)
- Shang‐Da Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0204-9601)
- Xiao Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0002-2446-8890)
- Guantao Yang
- Shen Zhou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5682-2589)
- Zhizhe Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7571-4161)
- Di Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7921-6781)
- Qi Xiong (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7326-0821)
- Zepeng Lu
Institutions
- National University of Defense Technology (CN)
- Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks Corporation (HK)
- Institute of Molecular Functional Materials (CN)
- Ministry of Education (IR)
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences (CN)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Angewandte Chemie International Edition
- Published
- 2026-07-30
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1002/anie.8243188
- Primary Topic
- Magnetism in coordination complexes
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00
Funders
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities
- Beijing National Laboratory for Molecular Sciences