New Delhi, June 28: Computers may soon become faster,
smaller and more powerful as scientists said they have
discovered magnetic superatoms which can provide a way to
design novel nano-scale structures.
A team of researchers, including two from Allahabad-based
Harish-Chandra Research Institute (HRI), have discovered the
'magnetic superatom' -- a stable cluster of atoms that can
mimic different elements of the periodic table.
The cluster, consisting of one Vanadium and eight Cesium
atoms, acts like a tiny magnet that can mimic a single
Manganese atom in magnetic strength while preferentially
allowing electrons of specific spin orientation to flow
through the surrounding shell of Cesium atoms.
"A combination such as the one we have created can lead
to significant developments in the area of molecular
electronics, a field where researchers study electric currents
through small molecules," the scientists said reporting their
findings in British science journal 'Nature'.
The study was conducted by a team under Shiv Khanna,
professor of physics at the Virginia Commonwealth University
along with collaborators at HRI and Naval Research Laboratory
in the US.
Magnetic superatoms may also have potential biomedical
applications such as sensing, imaging and drug delivery.
Scientists Prasenjit Sen and Kalpataru Pradhan of HRI and
their teammates performed an elaborate set of theoretical
calculations to study properties of various clusters
containing a single Vanadium atom and a number of Cesium
atoms.
They found that when a cluster had eight Cesium atoms, it
acquired extra stability due to a filled electronic state.
An atom is in a stable configuration when its outermost
shell is full. Consequently, when an atom combines with other
atoms, it tends to lose or gain valence electrons to acquire a
stable configuration.
The researchers believe that the superatom can have
significant impact in the area of molecular electronics and
spintronics, in which attempts are made to use conducting
properties of small molecules to design electronic devices.
Such molecular devices are expected to help make
non-volatile data storage, denser integrated devices, higher
data processing among other benefits.
The researchers have proposed that by combining gold and
manganese, one can make other superatoms that have magnetic
moment but will not conduct electricity. These superatoms may
also have potential application in healthcare.
HRI is a research institute under the Department of
Atomic Energy involved in studies in the fields of mathematics
and theoretical physics, including theoretical condensed
matter physics and materials science.
Bureau Report
First Published: Sunday, June 28, 2009, 11:07