Structure and superconductivity in FexCu1−xBa2YCu2O7+y superconductors synthesized by high pressure

Comprehensive studies of X-ray diffraction, oxygen content, superconductivity and Mössbauer effect have been made on Fe_xCu_1−xBa₂YCu₂O_7+y superconductors (0.00≤x≤0.70) synthesized by ambient (AM) and high pressure (HP). Results indicate that all the HP-samples have tetragonal structure, smaller lattice parameter c and unit-cell volume than the AM-samples. The studies of oxygen content, and Mössbauer spectroscopy indicate that the HP-samples have higher oxygen content, carrier concentration and average valence of Fe than the AM-samples. Moreover, for the HP-samples more Fe atoms located in CuO_x chains have fivefold-oxygen coordination. These are important reasons for the enhancement of T_c in the HP-samples.     

Synthesis and structure of the monolayer hydrate K0.3CoO2·0.4H2O

The monolayer hydrate (MLH) K_0.3CoO₂·0.4H₂O was synthesized from K_0.6CoO₂ by extracting K⁺ cations using K₂S₂O₈ as an oxidant and the subsequent intercalation of water between the layers of edge-sharing CoO₆ octahedra. A hexagonal structure (space group P6₃/mmc) with lattice parameters a=2.8262(1) Å, c=13.8269(6) Å similar to the MLH Na_0.36CoO₂·0.7H₂O was established using high-resolution synchrotron X-ray powder diffraction data. The K/H₂O layer in the K-MLH is disordered, which is in contrast to the Na-MLH. At low temperatures metallic and paramagnetic behavior was found.     

Superconductivity in Hole-Doped （S1-xKx）Fe2As2

A series of layered （Sr1-xKx）Fe2As2 compounds with nominal x = 0-0.40 are synthesized by solid state reaction method. Similar to other parent compounds of iron-based pnictide superconductors, pure SrFe2As2 shows a strong resistivity anomaly near 210 K, which was ascribed to the spin-density-wave instability. The anomaly temperature is much higher than those observed in LaOFeAs and BaFe2As2, the two prototype parent compounds with ZrCuSiAs- and ThCr2Si2-type structures. K-doping strongly suppresses this anomaly and induces superconductivity. Like in the case of K-doped BaFe2As2, sharp superconducting transitions at Tc ～ 38 K is observed. We perform the Hall coefficient measurement, and confirm that the dominant carriers are hole-type. The carrier density is enhanced by a factor of 3 in comparison to F-doped LaOFeAs superconductor.     

Superconductivity in the Th-doped Y NiC2 compounds

We have observed superconductivity in the two-phase samples with nominal compositions (Y _1−xTh_x)NiC₂ (x=0.1,0.2,0.3,0.4,0.5). As determined by magnetic, electrical and heat capacity measurements, the superconductivity phase transition temperature T_c increases with Th concentration to . Powder X-ray diffraction data provide the evidence for bulk superconductivity in an orthorhombic CeNiC₂-type majority fraction of the sample volume while the minor impurity phase ThC₂ has no effect on the superconductivity. The variation of room temperature lattice parameters, a, b, c and v of these substitutional intermetallic samples indicates the systematic substitution of Y ³⁺ ions by Th⁴⁺ ions irrespective of the existence of the 2nd impurity phase.     

Superconductivity of powder-in-tube Sr0.6K0.4Fe2As2 wires

Nb-sheathed Sr_0.6K_0.4Fe₂As₂ superconducting wires have been fabricated using the powder-in-tube (PIT) method for the first time and the superconducting properties of the wires have been investigated. The transition temperature (T_c) of the Sr_0.6K_0.4Fe₂As₂ wires is confirmed to be as high as 35.3 K. Most importantly, Sr_0.6K_0.4Fe₂As₂ wires exhibit a very weak J_c-field dependence behavior even the temperature is very close to T_c. The upper critical field H_c2(0) value can exceed 140 T, surpassing those of MgB₂ and all the low temperature superconductors. Such high H_c2 and superior J_c-field performance make the 122 phase SrKFeAs wire conductors a powerful competitor potentially useful in very high field applications.     

Superconductivity in porous MgB2

Porous magnesium diboride samples have been prepared by the heat treatment of a pressed mixture of Mg and MgB₂ powders. It was found that linked superconducting structure is formed down to the minimum normalized density γ_c=d/d₀≅0.16 (percolation threshold), where d is the density of MgB₂ averaged over the sample, d₀=2.62 g/cm³ is the X-ray density. Lattice parameters and critical temperature of the porous sample decrease with increasing porosity (decreasing γ) and T_c2≅32 K is minimal at γ_c. The grain boundaries in the porous samples are transparent for the current and J_c∼3×10⁵ A/cm² in self field at T=20 K in the samples with γ∼0.24.     

Superconductivity in Hg-substituted BaPb0.75Bi0.25O3

A series of Hg-doped BaPb_0.75Bi_0.25O₃ (BPBO) with a nominal composition of BaPb_0.75 − xHg_xBi_0.25O₃ (x=0-0.40 with 0.05 intervals) has been synthesized by solid state reaction. The system shows a lattice parameter expansion and lattice symmetry distortion with Hg doping. Superconducting transition temperature Tc and superconducting volume fraction of the system decrease with Hg doping level in the low doping level region (0?x?0.25) and are nearly fully suppressed at x=0.25. However, the superconductivity is recovered with further increasing Hg content at x>0.3. The possible mechanisms of the superconductivity in the low doping level region and the recovery of superconductivity in the high doping level region for Hg-doped BPBO system have been discussed.     

Relation of Structure and Superconductivity in Self-Compensating Y1-χCaχBa2-χLaχCu3Oy

The self-compensating compound of Y1-χ CaχBa2-χLaχ Cu3Oy is synthesized through a solid-state reaction method with χ from 0.25 to 0.55. Structural and superconducting properties have been investigated by χ-ray diffraction, Rietveld refinement, and dc magnetization measurement, respectively. The impure peaks appear when χ is more than 0.5 in the diffraction pattern. Orthorhombic-tetragonal transition occurs at χ = 0.45. Some local structural parameters, such as Cu（1）-O（4）, Cu（2）-O（4） bond lengths, change randomly in a narrow range. The relationship between the character of （Ba/La）-O plane and Tc is rather interesting. We attribute the behaviour of superconductivity to the joint effects of these local structural parameters. The results give the evidence that the influence of the structural change on superconductivity is essential and independent of carrier concentration.     

Superconductivity in CoSr2(Y1−xCax)Cu2O7+δ

The roles of aliovalent Ca^II-for-Y^III substitution and high-pressure-oxygen annealing in the process of ‘superconducterizing’ the Co-based layered copper oxide, CoSr₂(Y_1−xCa_x)Cu₂O_7+δ (Co-1212), were investigated. The as-air-synthesized samples up to x=0.4 were found essentially oxygen stoichiometric (−0.03≤δ≤0.00). These samples, however, were not superconducting, suggesting that the holes created by the divalent-for-trivalent cation substitution are trapped on Co in the charge reservoir. Ultra-high-pressure heat treatment carried out at 5 GPa and 500 °C for 30 min in the presence of Ag₂O₂ as an excess oxygen source induced bulk superconductivity in these samples. The highest T_c was obtained for the high-oxygen-pressure treated x=0.3 sample at ∼40 K.     

Dielectric properties of Cu0.5Tl0.5Ba2Ca3Cu4O12−δ bulk superconductor

The dielectric properties of Cu_0.5Tl_0.5Ba₂Ca₃Cu₄O_12−δ superconductor samples were studied at 79 and 290 K by means of capacitance (C) and conductance (G) measurements with the test frequency (f) in the range of 10 kHz to 10 MHz. A negative capacitance (NC) phenomenon has been observed, which is most likely arising due to higher Fermi level of ceramic superconductor samples than metal electrodes. Also the NC may be due to the space charge located at the multiple insulator–superconductor interfaces (grain boundaries) in the materials. The negative dielectric constant (ε′) and loss factor (tan δ) show strong dispersion at low frequencies. The lower thermal agitation at 79 K may enhance the polarizability and hence the dielectric constants (ε′ and ε″).     

Calcium and oxygen doping in Y Ba2Cu3Oy

Both oxygen and calcium play important roles in inducing superconductivity in Y Ba₂Cu₃O_y (YBCO), which is an antiferromagnetic insulator at low O and Ca content. O induces superconductivity in Ca-free YBCO, while Ca does similarly in oxygen-deficient YBCO. For doping oxygen HgO was used as it decomposes at 476 ^°C into Hg, which escapes from the matrix leaving the crystal unaltered, and O, which provide a way to dope O in YBCO. Considering these facts, polycrystalline samples of Y _1−xCa_xBa₂Cu₃O_y with x=0, 0.1 and 0.2 with and without HgO addition were prepared through a solid-state reaction method. The samples were sintered at 950 ^°C in open atmosphere. These synthesized samples were characterized through using the X-ray diffraction technique (XRD) for phase evaluation, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) for grain morphology, energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX) for compositional analysis and the four-contact measurement technique for determining the superconducting transition temperature.     

Upper Critical Fields and Anisotropy of BaFe1.9Ni0.1As2 Single Crystals

Temperature dependence of the upper critical magnetic field （Hc2） near Tc of 20 K in a BaFe1.9 Ni0.1 As2 single crystal is determined via magneto-resistance measurements, for the out-plane （H ⊥ab） and in-plane （H ｜｜ ab） directions in magnetic fields of up to 8 T. The upper critical fields at zero temperature estimated by the Werthamer-Helfand- Hohenberg （WHH） formula are μ0H^｜｜ c2（0） = 137 T and μ0H⊥c2（0） = 51 T, both exceeding the weak-coupling Pauli paramagnetic limit （μ0Hp = 1.84Tc）. However, the WHH formula could overestimate the μ0H^｜｜12（0） value. The anisotropy of upper critical fields is around 3 in the temperature range close to Tc. The result is very similar to the Co-doped 122 superconductor BaFe2-x Cox As2, indicating that electron-doped 122 superconductors exhibit similar superconducting properties.     

Metal to insulator transition in Mn substituted underdoped NdBa2Cu3O7−y: Evidence of strong charge localization

We have synthesized underdoped NdBa₂Cu₃O_7−y (NBCO) and NdBa₂Cu_3−xMn_xO_7−y (x = 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3) samples. The analysis of the lattice parameters has been done by using the X-ray diffraction (XRD) method. Using the Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM) the granular nature as well as the intergranular networks has been studied. The Energy Dispersive X-ray (EDX) and Rutherford Backscattering Spectroscopy (RBS) studies confirm the substitution of Mn in the Cu-sites. The transport measurements in several undoped and Mn-substituted NBCO samples have been carried out. We have observed an indication of the metal to insulator transition as a result of the strong charge localization induced by Mn substitution. The applicability of various conductivity equations has been verified for comparison. Estimations of the activation energy and localization length have been carried out and discussed.     

Proton incorporations and superconductivity in a cobalt oxyhydrate

We report evidence of proton incorporations in a newly-discovered cobalt oxyhydrate superconductor. During the hydration process for Na_0.32CoO₂ by the direct reaction with liquid water, it was shown that substantial NaOH was gradually liberated, indicating that H⁺ is incorporated into the hydrated compound. Combined with the thermogravimetric analysis, the chemical composition of the typical sample is Na_0.22H_0.1CoO₂·0.85H₂O. It shows bulk superconductivity at 4.4 K.     

Reversible magnetization and irreversibility line of tri-layer superconductor Ba2Ca2Cu3O6(O,F)2 with Tc∼108 K

We report magnetization measurements of grain-aligned Ba₂Ca₂Cu₃O₆(O,F)₂ with T_c?108 K. The interlayer distance of the material is the shortest among known tri-layer superconductors. Unexpectedly, the magnetization data show that the coupling strength between CuO₂ layers is rather weak. A direct reflection of the weak coupling is highly suppressed irreversibility line, i.e. a broad reversible region in H-T plane. The decoupling field obtained from the irreversibility line is less than 0.1 T, which is comparable with that of quasi two-dimensional superconductor Bi₂Sr₂CaCu₂O_8+δ. Comparison of data with the Hao-Clem model gives characteristic parameters [ξ_ab(0) and λ_ab(0)] and the critical fields [H_c(0) and H_c2^c(0)]. A large value of penetration depth, λ_ab(0)=240 nm reflects a small carrier concentration in CuO₂ planes, and explains the reason of the weak interlayer coupling.     

First-principles study on the metallic antiferromagnet Co[PhPO3]·H2O

The electronic structure and the magnetic properties of transition metal phosphonate Co(PhPO₃)·H₂O have been studied by first-principles within the density-functional theory (DFT) and the full potential linearized augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method. The total energy, the total magnetic moment, the atomic spin magnetic moments and the density of states(DOS) of Co(PhPO₃)·H₂O were all calculated. The calculations reveal that the title compound is a metallic antiferromagnet and has a metallic ferromagnetic metastable state, which are in good agreement with the experiment. The spin magnetic moment of Co(PhPO₃)·H₂O is about 4.93 _μB${\mu }_{\mathrm{B}}$ per molecule, and it is mainly assembled at the cobalt atom, at the same time, with a little contribution from the P, O1, O2, O3.     

Enhancement of Critical Current Density in Graphite Doped MgB2 Wires

Graphite doped MgB2-xCx (x = 0.00, 0.05, 0.10) wires were fabricated via the in situ powder-in-tube method in flowing argon by using low carbon steel tubes as the sheath materials. With the increase of graphite concentration,the amount of unreacted graphite in the core area increases, and the average grain size of MgB2 decreases. It is found that the critical current density Jc can be significantly improved by graphite doping. The MgB2 wire with x = 0.05 exhibits the best Jc value of 16710 A/cm^2 at 6K, 4.5T, but the MgB1.9C0.1 wire has the highest Jc value of 2060 A/cm^2 at 6 K, 8 T. It is suggested that the enhancement of Jc is due to not only the improvement of the microstructure features but also the introduction of pinning centres.     

Dependence of superconducting properties of undoped Bi2201 single crystals on conditions of their free growth in gas-filled cavities of a molten salt

High-quality undoped Bi2201 single crystals were obtained by free growth in gas-filled cavities formed in the volume of a KCl melt. The superconducting transition temperature T_c was found to be affected by the crystallization temperature T_cryst and varied from 10 to 2 K as T_cryst increased from 840 to 860 °C. The crystals with the highest T_c both in the underdoped and overdoped states were near the maximum of doping curve.     

Growth-induced anisotropy in Ba0.6K0.4BiO3 superconducting single crystal

0.6 K_0.4BiO₃ single crystal have been performed to study the nature of the growth-induced anisotropy revealed using chemical etching technique. It was found that this anisotropy is responsible for differences in low-field susceptibility and in hysteresis loops observed for different magnetic field orientations. Received: 9 December 1997/Accepted: 28 May 1998