A one-dimensional coordination solid is synthesized by reaction of a bispyridyl dithienylethene (DTE) photochromic unit with the highly anisotropic dysprosium-based single-molecule magnet [Dy(Tppy)F(pyridine)2]PF6. Slow magnetic relaxation characteristics are retained in the chain compound, 1c, and photoisomerization of the bridging DTE ligand induces a single-crystal-to-single-crystal transformation that can be monitored using photocrystallography. Notably, the resulting chain compound 1o exhibits faster low-temperature relaxation than 1c, which is apparent in magnetic hysteresis data collected for both compounds as high as 4 K. Ab initio calculations suggest that this photomodulation of the magnetic relaxation behavior is due to crystal packing changes rather than changes to the crystal field splitting upon ligand isomerization.

As conventional silicon-based transistors are fast approaching the physical limit, it is essential to seek alternative candidates, which should be compatible with or even replace microelectronics in the future. Here, we report a robust solid-state single-molecule field-effect transistor architecture using graphene source/drain electrodes and a metal back-gate electrode. The transistor is constructed by a single dinuclear ruthenium-diarylethene (Ru-DAE) complex, acting as the conducting channel, connecting covalently with nanogapped graphene electrodes, providing field-effect behaviors with a maximum on/off ratio exceeding three orders of magnitude. Use of ultrathin high-k metal oxides as the dielectric layers is key in successfully achieving such a high performance. Additionally, Ru-DAE preserves its intrinsic photoisomerisation property, which enables a reversible photoswitching function. Both experimental and theoretical results demonstrate these distinct dual-gated behaviors consistently at the single-molecule level, which helps to develop the different technology for creation of practical ultraminiaturised functional electrical circuits beyond Moore’s law.