Cr7Ni Wheels: Supramolecular Tectons for the Physical Implementation of Quantum Information Processing

The physical implementation of quantum information processing (QIP) is an emerging field that requires finding a suitable candidate as a quantum bit (qubit), the basic unit for quantum information, which can be organised in a scalable manner to implement quantum gates (QGs) capable of performing computational tasks. Supramolecular chemistry offers a wide range of chemical tools to bring together, with great control, different molecular building blocks in order to grow supramolecular assemblies that have the potential to achieve the current milestones in the field. In this review, we are particularly interested in the latest research developments on the supramolecular chemistry approach to QIP using {Cr7Ni} wheels as qubits for the physical implementation of QGs. Special emphasis will be given to the unique high degree of chemical tunability of this unique class of heterobimetallic octanuclear rings, which results in an attractive playground to generate aesthetically pleasing supramolecular assemblies of increasing structural complexity and interesting physical properties for quantum computing.