An NCN-pincer ligand dysprosium single-ion magnet showing magnetic relaxation via the second excited state.

Single-molecule magnets are compounds that exhibit magnetic bistability purely of molecular origin. The control of anisotropy and suppression of quantum tunneling to obtain a comprehensive picture of the relaxation pathway manifold, is of utmost importance with the ultimate goal of slowing the relaxation dynamics within single-molecule magnets to facilitate their potential applications. Combined ab initio calculations and detailed magnetization dynamics studies reveal the unprecedented relaxation mediated via the second excited state within a new DyNCN system comprising a valence-localized carbon coordinated to a single dysprosium(III) ion. The essentially C2v symmetry of the Dy(III) ion results in a new relaxation mechanism, hitherto unknown for mononuclear Dy(III) complexes, opening new perspectives for means of enhancing the anisotropy contribution to the spin-relaxation barrier.