Paramagnetic Gas Adsorbed in Metal–Organic Framework: A Promising Platform for Spin Qubits Design

Abstract

Development of viable quantum bits (qubits) is currently among the main challenges in quantum technologies. One approach to this problem that utilizes the potential of synthetic chemistry is the creation of molecular spin qubits (MSQs). Metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) are promising materials for scaling up MSQ systems while also exhibiting useful sorption properties. We report the adsorption of paramagnetic nitric oxide (NO) in MOF-808 and its modifications and for the first time propose an adsorbed “gas@MOF” concept to design MSQs. Continuous-wave electron paramagnetic resonance (CW EPR) allowed monitoring of the NO adsorption process that occurs at temperatures below 150 K and leads to immobilization of NO molecules within the MOF-808 matrix. Electron decoherence times T_m acquired by pulse EPR were found sufficiently long to perform simple spin manipulations (∼1.5 μs), which was demonstrated by a Rabi-oscillation experiment. Thus, gas molecules adsorbed in MOFs, “gas@MOF”, can act as potential spin qubits, as was exemplified by NO@MOF-808 as a proof of principle, and can be further extended to other paramagnetic gases and various MOFs.