Molecular vs. inorganic spintronics: the role of molecular materials and single molecules

Molecular spintronics is a new and emerging sub-area of spintronics that can benefit from the achievements obtained in molecular electronics and molecular magnetism. The two major trends of this area are the design of molecular analogs of the inorganic spintronic structures, and the evolution towards single-molecule spintronics. The former trend opens the possibility to design cheaper spintronic devices compatible with plastic technology, while the second takes advantage of the possibility to tailor molecules with control down to the single spin. In this highlight these two trends will be compared with the state-of-the-art achieved in the conventional inorganic spintronic systems.