CAREER: Low-Valent Metal Qubits for Quantum Information Science

About This Grant

With support from the Chemical Synthesis Program in the Chemistry Section, Professor Daniel N. Huh of the University of Rhode Island will develop a new class of molecule-based quantum compounds, known as molecular qubits, using group 4 metals (titanium (Ti), zirconium (Zr), and hafnium (Hf)) and rare-earth elements to advance quantum information science. By controlling the electronic structure of these metals, this project seeks to understand and mitigate electron spin decoherence in molecular inorganic complexes. Over the project period, systematic variations in metal identity and ligand environment will be used to elucidate how molecular structure governs quantum coherence in low-valent group 4 and lanthanide systems. In parallel, the program places an emphasis on education and outreach by developing accessible quantum science resources for the Rare Earth Research Conference (RERC) Summer School, contributing open-source teaching materials through the Virtual Inorganic Pedagogical Electronic Resource (VIPEr), creating classroom-ready modules for K-8 teachers in Rhode Island, and providing hands-on research and mentoring opportunities for high-school students through ACS Project SEED. Together, these efforts integrate fundamental research with workforce development to broaden participation and understanding in quantum science. This research seeks to establish general design principles for molecule-based quantum systems by controlling how electronic structure influences spin coherence and relaxation. The program will investigate low-valent metal complexes and tune ligand platforms for quantum behavior, focusing on how coordination environment, symmetry, and periodic trends impact spin dynamics. Comparative studies across related metal systems will be used to identify how changes in electronic structure affect spin coherence, while complementary ligand architectures will provide additional control over relaxation pathways. In parallel, ligand encapsulation strategies will be explored to access alternative orbital contributions and further enhance coherence lifetimes. Together, these efforts aim to advance a broadly applicable framework for designing molecular systems with improved quantum performance. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.