An Endohedral Single-Molecule Magnet with Long Relaxation Times: DySc_{2}N@C_{80}

The magnetism of DySc2N@C80 endofullerene was studied with X-ray magnetic circular dichroism (XMCD) and a magnetometer with a superconducting quantum interference device (SQUID) down to temperatures of 2 K and in fields up to 7 T. XMCD shows hysteresis of the 4f spin and orbital moment in DyIII ions. SQUID magnetometry indicates hysteresis below 6 K, while thermal and nonthermal relaxation is observed. Dilution of DySc2N@C80 samples with C60 increases the zero-field 4f electron relaxation time at 2 K to several hours.