Room temperature magnetoelectric coupling in a molecular ferroelectric ytterbium(III) complex

Major-league magnetostriction Magnetoelectric materials polarize in response to either electric or magnetic fields, making them attractive for data-storage applications. Long et al. discovered a ytterbium-based molecular magnetoelectric material with high magnetoelectric coupling (see the Perspective by Zhou and Han). An applied magnetic field strains the material, which changes its electrical properties. The required field is much lower than other magnetoelectric materials, and this work highlights the potential for using molecular materials in devices. Science , this issue p. 671 ; see also p. 627