The Hindu News Update service
Sunday, February 4, 2007 : 1559 Hrs
Indian scientist discovers new magnetic molecules
Sci. & Tech.
New Delhi, Feb. 4 (PTI): An Indian scientist and his team have discovered a new
family of magnetic molecules that could revolutionise computer storage devices.
The organic nickel compounds created by Rajsapan Jain and his colleagues at the
University of Victoria (UVIC), Canada, display magnetic properties spontaneously
at room temperature.
Jain said their find has immense potential as magnets, in one form or the
other, are used by humans in several daily affairs.
"We now have the ability to modify the the structure of the native organic that
will help tune high-temperature magnetic properties and render soluble end
products," Jain told PTI.
Jain, who discovered these magnetic molecules while pursuing post-doctoral
research at UVIC, the findings can be harnessed for several custom applications
like computer disc drives.
"Our results for the first time demonstrate that high temperature magnetic
ordering in organic-based materials coupled with product stability can be
achieved
with reliability," he said.
The magnets are stable in air and retain their properties in ambient conditions
-- attributes that favour standard end uses.
The new molecules themselves could not be formed into plastics because they
clump into loose powders that do not dissolve. Researchers have to find out
how these materials are formed and ways to control the process to turn the
compounds into pliable magnetic plastics.
The discovery was partly accidental. The researchers were mixing organic
nitrogen-rich compounds with nickel atoms and water when Jain noticed that the
chemicals were not completely used up in the reaction.
"We kept adding nickel to see what would happen and ended up with mud-like
powder in their test tubes," said Jain was pursuing the research as a post
doctoral
student of Robert Hicks of the Department of Chemistry at UVIC.
Past examples of magnetic organic materials were either unstable in air or were
mostly made of metal, making them unsuitable for linking together into a
plastic.
"From a practical standpoint, the method discovered is convenient,
straightforward and results in high conversions," said Jain, who published the
results
in Nature magazine last month.
Since magnets are ubiquitous and comprise a multi-billion dollar industry the
researchers are hopeful that the properties of the materials discovered could
be harnessed to achieve widespread end uses.
Besides Jain, a Chemistry graduate from Delhi's St Stephen's College, others
researchers are Khayrul Kabir and Joe Gilroy of UVIC and Keith Mitchell and
Kin-chung Wong of the University of British Columbia.
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