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Systems chemistry

All in a spin

A fundamental challenge in systems chemistry is to engineer the emergence of complex behaviour. The collective structures of metal cyanide chains have now been interpreted in the same manner as the myriad of magnetic phases displayed by frustrated spin systems, highlighting a symbiotic approach between systems chemistry and magnetism.

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Figure 1: Schematic representation of frustrated magnets and the mapping of assemblies of coordination polymer chains in supramolecular systems chemistry.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Leverhulme Trust for an award (RPG-2013-343) to support L.C.

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Correspondence to Philip Lightfoot.

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Clark, L., Lightfoot, P. All in a spin. Nature Chem 8, 402–404 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1038/nchem.2510

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