Molecular magnetism is a new field of research dealing with the synthesis and study of the physical properties of molecular assemblies involving open-shell units. It is essentially interdisciplinary, joining together organic, organometallic and inorganic chemists, as well as theoreticians, physicists and materials scientists.
At the core of research into molecular magnetism lie design and synthesis of new molecular assemblies exhibiting bulk properties such as long-range magnetic ordering or bistability with an hysteresis effect, which confers a memory effect on the system. In such terms, magnetism may be considered a supramolecular function.
The first eight contributions to this volume present the state of the art in organic supramolecular chemistry, emphasising interlocked systems and molecular trees. The following six articles are devoted to molecular materials constructed from organic radicals and transition metal units. Molecular bistability is then focused on, followed by metal-organic and coordination magnetic materials. A new approach to nano-sized particles closes the work.

One of the major challenges of science in the last few years of the second millennium is learning how to design materials which can fulfill specific tasks. Ambitious as it may be, the possibilities of success are not ne li ble provided that all the different expertises merge to overcome the limits of eXIsting disciplines and forming new paradigms science. The NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Magnetic Molecular Materials" was organized with the above considerations in mind in order to determine which are the most appropriate synthetic strategies, experimental techniques of investigation, and theoretical models which are needed in order to develop new classes of magnetic materials which are based on molecules rather than on metallic or ionic lattices. Why molecules? The answer may be obvious: molecular chemistry in principle fine can tune the structures and the properties of complex aggregates, and nature already provides a large number of molecular aggregates which can perform the most disparate functions. The contributions collected in this book provide a rather complete view of the current research accomplishments of magnetic molecular materials. There are several different synthetic approaches which are followed ranging from purely organic to inorganic materials. Some encouraging successes have already been achieved, even if the critical temperatures below which magnetic order is observed still are in the range requiring liquid helium.

One of the major challenges of science in the last few years of the second millennium is learning how to design materials which can fulfill specific tasks. Ambitious as it may be, the possibilities of success are not ne li ble provided that all the different expertises merge to overcome the limits of eXIsting disciplines and forming new paradigms science. The NATO Advanced Research Workshop on "Magnetic Molecular Materials" was organized with the above considerations in mind in order to determine which are the most appropriate synthetic strategies, experimental techniques of investigation, and theoretical models which are needed in order to develop new classes of magnetic materials which are based on molecules rather than on metallic or ionic lattices. Why molecules? The answer may be obvious: molecular chemistry in principle fine can tune the structures and the properties of complex aggregates, and nature already provides a large number of molecular aggregates which can perform the most disparate functions. The contributions collected in this book provide a rather complete view of the current research accomplishments of magnetic molecular materials. There are several different synthetic approaches which are followed ranging from purely organic to inorganic materials. Some encouraging successes have already been achieved, even if the critical temperatures below which magnetic order is observed still are in the range requiring liquid helium.

Molecular magnetism is a new field of research dealing with the synthesis and study of the physical properties of molecular assemblies involving open-shell units. It is essentially interdisciplinary, joining together organic, organometallic and inorganic chemists, as well as theoreticians, physicists and materials scientists.
At the core of research into molecular magnetism lie design and synthesis of new molecular assemblies exhibiting bulk properties such as long-range magnetic ordering or bistability with an hysteresis effect, which confers a memory effect on the system. In such terms, magnetism may be considered a supramolecular function.
The first eight contributions to this volume present the state of the art in organic supramolecular chemistry, emphasising interlocked systems and molecular trees. The following six articles are devoted to molecular materials constructed from organic radicals and transition metal units. Molecular bistability is then focused on, followed by metal-organic and coordination magnetic materials. A new approach to nano-sized particles closes the work.

Dies Buch ist fur die Praxis geschrieben. Ein Bedurfnis liegt ohne Zweifel vor. Doch bleibt eine praktische Anleitung und Einleitung in das Gebiet der Logopadie problematisch. Spre- chen ist in jedem Falle ein Vorgang. eine Handlung. Das be- ginnt mit der Anbahnung der Sprache und zieht sich bis zum Lebensende durch die Biographie jedes Sprechers und Hoe- rers. Sprache kennt keinen Stillstand. nicht beim Individuum. nicht in der Sprachgemeinschaft. Sprache ist ein Augenblicks- phanomen, sofern sie nicht schriftlich fixiert wird. Weil Spra- che Handlung ist und Handlung Bewegung und Bewegung sich in der Zeit vollzieht. lassen sich korrigierende Anregun- gen und UEbungen meist vergeblich schwarz auf weiss fest- schreiben. Wir haben versucht, von der systematischen Einteilung fort- zudenken und uns auf typische Stoerungsbilder. die im Rah- men von Fallbeschreibungen vorgestellt werden. zu konzen- trieren. Wir hoffen. mit diesem verkurzten Ansatz einen Teil der Lebendigkeit. die der aktuellen Sprache und dem tatigen Sprecher anhaftet. fur unser Konzept bewahren zu koennen. Fur diejenigen. die daruberhinaus wissen und erkennen wol- len. sind die einschlagigen Kompendien zustandig und in er- ster Annaherung die von uns beigefugten allgemeinen, ergan- zenden und erlauternden Beitrage, Bilder. Tabellen und stati- stischen Aufrisse.