High-spin organic molecules.

Organic molecules with high-spin ground states, besides being fundamentally interesting, possess numerous potential applications in diverse fields such organic magnetism, MRI contrast agents, and spintronics. Such molecules, once thought to exist only as highly reactive intermediates, can be rationally designed to have adequate stability for organic synthesis and characterization. This Synopsis provides an overview of the factors that lead to high-spin ground states as well as recent progress in the design and synthesis of high-spin organic molecules.