Molecular Approaches for Spin-based Technologies

Spintronics or quantum devices are not based on the charge of the electron as an information carrier but rather on the exploitation of the spin of the electron. This has the potential to lead to fundamentally new device concepts that are also characterized by much lower power consumption or higher processing capacity. An example of such applications is the quantum computer in which an entangled state of multiple spins is the key processing element. The implementation of such spin-based devices requires the manipulation of spin, including the selective generation of specific spin states, spin selective transport and the (photo-)generation of entangled spin states. In this special collection we bring together new chemistry-based approaches to construct and characterize elements for spin-based devices. This includes spin-selective transport (for instance through chiral-induced spin selectivity), molecule-based qubits, optical generation of spin polarization and/or entangled spin states and the interaction between magnetic centers and chiral molecules.