A New Quasi-One-Dimensional Ternary Molybdenum Pnictide Rb2Mo3As3 with Superconducting Transition at 10.5K

We report superconductivity in a new ternary molybdenum pnictide Rb2 Mo3 As3,synthesized via the solid state reaction method.Powder x-ray diffraction analysis reveals a hexagonal crystal structure with space group P6 m2(No.187),and the refined lattice parameters are a=10.431(5)A,c=4.460(4)A.SEM images show rod-like grains with good ductility,confirming a quasi-one-dimensional(Q1 D)structure.Electrical resistivity and dc magnetic susceptibility characterizations exhibit superconductivity with an onset of Tc=10.5 K.The upper critical field of Rb2 Mo3 As3 is estimated to be 28.2 T at zero temperature,providing an evidence of possible unconventional superconductivity.Our recent discovery of MoAs-based superconductors above 10 K provides a unique platform for the study of exotic superconductivity in 4 d electron systems with Q1 D crystal structures.

Direct Microwave Synthesis of 11-Type Fe(Te,Se) Polycrystalline Superconductors with Enhanced Critical Current Density

We report a direct microwave synthesis method for the preparation of 11-type high quality Fe(Te,Se) polycrystalline superconductors. The bulk samples are rapidly synthesized under the microwave irradiation during several minutes, with a subsequent annealing process at 400℃. The samples exhibit a nearly single phase of the tetragonal PbO-type crystal structure with minor impurities. Morphology characterization shows high density, tight grain connectivity and large grain sizes around 100 μm with small cavities inside the sample. Resistivity and magnetization measurements both show similar superconducting transitions above 14 K. The magnetic hysteresis measurements display broad and symmetric loops without magnetic background, and a high critical current density J_c about 1.2 × 10~4 A/cm^2 at 2 K and 7 T is estimated by the Bean model. Compared with the solidstate reaction synthesized samples, these superconducting bulks from microwave-assisted synthesis are possibly free of the interstitial Fe due to smaller c-axis, higher T_c in magnetic transitions, better M–H loops without magnetic background and greatly enhanced J_c, and are promising as raw materials for the non-toxic Fe-based superconducting wires for large currents and high field applications.

Superconductivity at 7.8 K in the ternary LaRu2As2 compound

Here we report the discovery of superconductivity in the ternary LaRu2As2 compound. The polycrystalline LaRu2As2 samples were synthesized by the conventional solid state reaction method. Powder X-ray diffraction analysis indicates that LaRu2As2 crystallizes in the ThCr2Si2-type crystal structure with the space group 14/ mmm （No. 139）, and the refined lattice parameters are a = 4.182（6）A and c = 10.590（3）A. The temperature dependent resistivity measurement shows a clear superconducting transition with the onset Tc （critical tempera- ture） at 7.8 K, and zero resistivity happens at 6.8 K. The upper critical field at zero temperature μ0Hc2（0） was estimated to be 1.6 T from the resistivity measurement. DC magnetic susceptibility measurement shows a bulk superconducting Meissner transition at 7.0 K, and the isothermal magnetization measurement indicates that LaRu2As2 is a type-II superconductor.

Superconductivity at 10.4 K in a novel quasi-one-dimensional ternary molybdenum pnictide K2Mo3As3

Here we report the discovery of the first ternary molybdenum pnictide based superconductor K2Mo3As3. Polycrystalline samples were synthesized by the conventional solid state reaction method. X-ray diffrac- tion analysis reveals a quasi-one-dimensional hexagonal crystal structure with （Mo3As3）2 linear chains separated by K^＋ ions, similar as previously reported K2Cr3As3, with the space group of P-6m2 （No. 187） and the refined lattice parameters a = 10.145（5） A and c = 4.453（8） A. Electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and heat capacity measurements exhibit bulk superconductivity with the onset Tc at 10.4 K in K2Mo3As3 which is higher than the isostructural Cr-based superconductors. Being the same group VIB transition elements and with similar structural motifs, these Cr and Mo based superconductors may share some common underlying origins for the occurrence of superconductivity and need more investigations to uncover the electron pairing within a quasi-one-dimensional chain structure.

Discovery of a novel 112-type iron-pnictide and La-doping induced superconductivity in Eu_(1-x)La_xFeAs_2(x=0–0.15)

We report the discovery and characterization of a novel 112-type iron pnictide EuFeAs2, with La-doping induced superconductivity in a series of Eu1- xLaxFeAs2. The polycrystalline samples were synthesized through solid state reaction method only within a very narrow temperature window around 1073 K. Small single crystals were also grown from a flux method with the size about 100μm. The crystal structure was identified by single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis as a monoclinic structure with space group of P2 1/m. From resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements, we found that the parent compound EuFeAs2 shows distinct anomalies probably due to the Fe2＋ related antiferromagnetic/structural phase transition near 110K and the Eu2＋ related antiferromagnetic phase transition near 40K. La-doping suppressed both phase transitions to lower temperatures and induced superconducting transitions with a Tc - 11 K for Eu0.85La0.15FeAs2.