It was announced that optical detection of electron spins in a metal-organic framework (MOF) had been demonstrated for the first time. In a MOF using a porphyrin derivative ligand, the researchers successfully optically detected triplet spins excited by light, and the findings were published in a journal.
A research group from the University of Tokyo, the University of Glasgow, the University of Sheffield, Saitama University, JEOL Ltd. and Kobe University, among others, used optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) to demonstrate the optical detection of electron spins in a MOF for the first time.
In this study, the group synthesized a MOF using a porphyrin derivative as the ligand and successfully detected ligand-derived excited triplet spins generated by light. MOFs had been expected to serve as quantum-sensing materials, but this was the first time optical detection of spins had been achieved.
The findings were published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society based on an announcement dated 9 October 2026 in U.S. Eastern Daylight Time.