Organic radicals, a promising route towards original molecule-based magnetic materials

We describe our activities on radical-based compounds developed within the 6-year priority program of the DFG Schwerpunktprogramm “Molekularer Magnetismus”. During this period, two families of radicals, based on nitroxide and verdazyl unpaired electron containing moieties, were used to build up purely organic compounds as well as coordination compounds. The versatility of their chemistry together with the variety and strength of the intra- and inter-molecular exchange interactions emphasised by calculation on model systems confirm the role of radicals as major building blocks for molecule-based magnetic materials.