Bulk Superconductivity at 10 K in the Layered Compounds Y2C 2I2 and Y2C2Br2

Pressure-structure relationships in the 10 K layered carbide halide superconductor Y2C2I2

The electronic structures of the 10 K layered yttrium carbide halide superconductor Y2C2I2 is characterized by bands of low dispersion and narrow peak-valley features in the electronic density of states at the Fermi level. In order to investigate to what extent the superconducting properties can be modified by external pressure we have studied the pressure dependence of the superconducting critical temperature and the crystal structure of Y2C2I2 to pressures of 7.4 GPa. Up to ~2.5 GPa we observe an increase of T c from 10 K to about 12 K. A structural phase transition from a 1s to a 3s stacking variant occurs at about 2.5 GPa above which T c rapidly decreases to a value of ~7.5 K at 7.5 GPa. Density functional calculations corroborate the structural phase transition to occur at a critical cell volume of ~270 Å(3) corresponding to a pressure of ~2.4 GPa, in good agreement with the experimental findings. The pressure dependence of T c and inter-atomic distances and angles are discussed with respect to the results of density functional calculations of the electronic and crystal structure.

Structure and bonding of superconducting LaC2

We have synthesized polycrystalline samples of superconducting LaC2 and investigated them by x-ray and neutron powder diffraction, magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements. Depending on the preparation conditions we find superconductivity below ~1.8 K. A comparison of the superconducting anomaly in the heat capacity with theoretical predictions indicates LaC2 to be a weak-coupling BCS-type superconductor. Evidence for a structural phase transition has not been found from the neutron powder diffraction experiments carried out down to 4 K. A negative thermal expansion of the c lattice parameter was observed below ~50 K. The electronic structure of LaC2 has been calculated ab initio and it is compared with that of YC2. The carbon-carbon distance of LaC2 has been determined from the neutron powder diffraction experiments and it is compared and discussed with respect to those observed in other superconducting binary and ternary La and Y carbides and carbide halides.

High-Tc Superconductivity in Electron-Doped Layer Structured Nitrides

▪ Abstract  A new series of superconductors based on layer structured nitrides has been developed. The general compositions of the nitrides are MNX (M = Zr, Hf; X = Cl, Br, I). The β-type polymorph consists of MN double layers sandwiched between close-packed halogen layers, which are characterized as semiconductors with a band gap of 3–4 eV. Electrons can be doped to the nitride layers by intercalation of alkali metals between the layers. Upon the intercalation, the compounds become superconductors with the transition temperatures (Tc s) as high as 13 and 25.5 K for β-ZrNCl and β-HfNCl systems, respectively. The Tc of the electron doped β-HfNCl is higher than that observed in any intermetallic compound and suggests that layered nitrides may exhibit Tc s comparable to those observed in layer structured complex copper oxide superconductors. The layer structured nitrides can be variously modified by the amounts of doping, the types of alkali metals, and the interlayer separation, which can be controlled by co-intercalation of organic molecules with alkali metals. This article dicusses topics including the synthesis and structure of the transition metal nitride halides, intercalation, superconductivity, and band structures.