Magnetism in two-dimensional (2D) materials is the focus of recent research interest due to the exciting properties emerging at nanoscale and and the potential of these materials for applications ranging from spintronics, quantum computing to optical communications. 1–4 Magnetic 2D organic materials can be engineered taking advantage of the self-assembly of molecular magnets. The magnetic properties of such 2D materials are expected to not only depend of the intrinsic magnetic properties of the individual building blocks but also their arrangement. Controlling the properties of self-assembled magnetic nanoarchitecture requires a precise assessment of self-assembly processes as well as a detailed characterization of the material structure combined with proper magnetic properties characterization..

We selected various flat molecular magnets, based on porphyrin and beta-diketonato skeleton, to engineer 2D magnetic films through self-assembly. The organic arrangement are stabilized by van der Waals interactions or halogen bonds. The complexes have different metal centers to trigger the appearance of different magnetic properties. We investigate using Scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and synchrotron spectroscopy (XNLD, XMCD) at low temperature. Our measurements reveal that the nature of the complex metal center as well as the complex arrangement drastically influence the magnetic properties of the 2D organic films.