Effect of Mg and C contents in MgCNi3, and structure and superconductivity of MgCNi3- x -Co x

The effect of Mg and C contents on T_C in MgCN₃, and structure and superconductivity of MgCNi_3-x Co _x were studied. It is found that the excess of Mg and C in initial material mixture is favorable to improvement inT _c and helps to obtain single-phase samples. For preparing MgCNi₃ superconductor, the optimum composition of starting materials is MgC_1.45Ni₃ with excess of Mg (20 wt.%) of the stoichiometric composition. In gCNi_3-x Co _x system, a continuous solid solution is formed, lattice parameter decreases slightly andT _c decreases obviously with increasingx. A suppression of superconductivity is observed due to the substitution of Co (Mn) for Ni. The suppression effect is smaller for the substitution of Co than that of Mn