Molecular Magnetocapacitance

Capacitance of a nanoscale system is usually thought of having two contributions, a classical electrostatic contribution and a quantum contribution dependent on the density of states and/or molecular orbitals close to the Fermi energy. In this letter we demonstrate that in molecular nano-magnets and other magnetic nanoscale systems, the quantum part of the capacitance becomes spin-dependent, and is tunable by an external magnetic field. This molecular magnetocapacitance can be realized using single molecule nano-magnets and/or other nano-structures that have antiferromagnetic ground states. As a proof of principle, first-principles calculation of the nano-magnet [Mn3O(sao)3(O2CMe)(H2O)(py)3] shows that the charging energy of the high-spin state is 260 meV lower than that of the low-spin state, yielding a 6% difference in capacitance. A magnetic field of ~40T can switch the spin state, thus changing the molecular capacitance. A smaller switching field may be achieved using nanostructures whose physical properties such as magnetic moment are size-dependent. Molecular magnetocapacitance may lead to revolutionary device designs, e.g., by exploiting the Coulomb blockade magnetoresistance whereby a small change in capacitance can lead to a huge change in resistance.