Will Spin-Relaxation Times in Molecular Magnets Permit Quantum Information Processing?

Using X-band pulsed electron-spin resonance, we report the intrinsic spin-lattice (T₁) and phase-coherence (T₂) relaxation times in molecular nanomagnets for the first time. In Cr₇M heterometallic wheels, with M=Ni and Mn, phase-coherence relaxation is dominated by the coupling of the electron spin to protons within the molecule. In deuterated samples T₂ reaches 3μs at low temperatures, which is several orders of magnitude longer than the duration of spin manipulations, satisfying a prerequisite for the deployment of molecular nanomagnets in quantum information applications.