Dynamics of Crystalline Paramagnets

The study of the magnetic properties of molecules has been a long-standing topic within condensed matter physics and chemistry. The last three decades has seen a tremendous influx in the interest in single-molecule magnets because of their potential use in technological applications such as micro-electronics, data storage, and quantum computing. Controlling magnetic properties of molecules is exceedingly difficult, and applications are still in their infancy. Research therefore takes place on two fronts. One seeks to develop single-molecule magnets, and the other investigates model system, which may yield insights in to the fundamental chemistry and physics of single-molecule magnets. The work presented in this thesis takes the latter approach by investigating a series of model systems, for which the results
are presented, and their significance in the context of molecular magnetism is discussed.