Magnesium-based cement is one of the most interesting eco-sustainable alternatives to standard cementitious binders. The reasons for the interest towards this material are twofold: (i) its production process, using magnesium silicates, brine or seawater, dramatically reduces CO₂ emissions with respect to Portland cement production, and (ii) it is very well suited to applications in radioactive waste encapsulation. In spite of its potential, assessment of the structural properties of its binder phase (magnesium silicate hydrate or M–S–H) is far from complete, especially because of its amorphous character. In this work, a comprehensive structural characterization of M–S–H was obtained using a multi-technique approach, including a detailed solid-state NMR investigation and, in particular, for the first time, quantitative ²⁹Si solid-state NMR data. M–S–H was prepared through room-temperature hydration of highly reactive MgO and silica fume and was monitored for 28 days. The results clearly evidenced the presence in M–S–H of “chrysotile-like” and “talc-like” sub-nanometric domains, which are approximately in a 1 : 1 molar ratio after long-time hydration. Both these kinds of domains have a high degree of condensation, corresponding to the presence of a small amount of silanols in the tetrahedral sheets. The decisive improvement obtained in the knowledge of M–S–H structure paves the way for tailoring the macroscopic properties of eco-sustainable cements by means of a bottom-up approach.

A challenge in molecular spintronics is to control the magnetic coupling between magnetic molecules and magnetic electrodes to build efficient devices. Here we show that the nature of the magnetic ion of anchored metal complexes highly impacts the exchange coupling of the molecules with magnetic substrates. Surface anchoring alters the magnetic anisotropy of the cobalt(II)-containing complex (Co(Pyipa)₂), and results in blocking of its magnetization due to the presence of a magnetic hysteresis loop. In contrast, no hysteresis loop is observed in the isostructural nickel(II)-containing complex (Ni(Pyipa)₂). Through XMCD experiments and theoretical calculations we find that Co(Pyipa)₂ is strongly ferromagnetically coupled to the surface, while Ni(Pyipa)₂ is either not coupled or weakly antiferromagnetically coupled to the substrate. These results highlight the importance of the synergistic effect that the electronic structure of a metal ion and the organic ligands has on the exchange interaction and anisotropy occurring at the molecule–electrode interface.