A Dysprosium Metallocene Single‐Molecule Magnet Functioning at the Axial Limit

Abstraction of a chloride ligand from the dysprosium metallocene [(Cp^ttt)₂DyCl] ( 1_Dy Cp^ttt=1,2,4‐tri(tert ‐butyl)cyclopentadienide) by the triethylsilylium cation produces the first base‐free rare‐earth metallocenium cation [(Cp^ttt)₂Dy]⁺ ( 2_Dy ) as a salt of the non‐coordinating [B(C₆F₅)₄]⁻ anion. Magnetic measurements reveal that [ 2_Dy ][B(C₆F₅)₄] is an SMM with a record anisotropy barrier up to 1277 cm⁻¹ (1837 K) in zero field and a record magnetic blocking temperature of 60 K, including hysteresis with coercivity. The exceptional magnetic axiality of 2_Dy is further highlighted by computational studies, which reveal this system to be the first lanthanide SMM in which all low‐lying Kramers doublets correspond to a well‐defined M_J value, with no significant mixing even in the higher doublets.     

Mg2+‐Dependent High Mechanical Anisotropy of Three‐Way‐Junction pRNA as Revealed by Single‐Molecule Force Spectroscopy

Mechanical anisotropy is ubiquitous in biological tissues but is hard to reproduce in synthetic biomaterials. Developing molecular building blocks with anisotropic mechanical response is the key towards engineering anisotropic biomaterials. The three‐way‐junction (3WJ) pRNA, derived from ϕ 29 DNA packaging motor, shows strong mechanical anisotropy upon Mg²⁺ binding. In the absence of Mg²⁺, 3WJ‐pRNA is mechanically weak without noticeable mechanical anisotropy. In the presence of Mg²⁺, the unfolding forces can differ by more than 4‐fold along different pulling directions, ranging from about 47 pN to about 219 pN. Mechanical anisotropy of 3WJ‐pRNA stems from pulling direction dependent cooperativity for the rupture of two Mg²⁺ binding sites, which is a novel mechanism for the mechanical anisotropy of biomacromolecules. It is anticipated that 3WJ‐pRNA can be used as a key element for the construction of biomaterials with controllable mechanical anisotropy.