2 research outputs found
Superconductivity Phase Diagram of Na(x)CoO(2).1.3H(2)O
Although the microscopic origin of the superconductivity in high Tc copper
oxides remains the subject of active inquiry, several of their electronic
characteristics are well established as universal to all the known materials,
forming the experimental foundation that all theories must address. The most
fundamental of those characteristics is the dependence of the superconducting
transition temperature on the degree of electronic band filling. Since the
discovery of cuprate superconductivity in 1986 (1), the search for other
families of superconductors that might help shed light on the superconducting
mechanism of the cuprates has been of great interest. The recent report of
superconductivity near 4K in the triangular lattice, layered sodium cobalt
oxyhydrate, Na0.35CoO2.1.3H2O, is the best indication that superconductors
related to the cuprates may be found (2). Here we show that the superconducting
transition temperature of this compound displays the same kind of band-filling
behavior that is observed in the cuprates. Specifically, that the optimal
superconducting Tc occurs in a narrow range of band filling, and decreases for
both underdoped and overdoped materials, in dramatic analogy to the phase
diagram of the cuprate superconductors. Our results suggest that
characterization of the detailed electronic and magnetic behavior of these new
materials may help establish which of the many special characteristics of the
cuprates is fundamental to their high Tc superconductivity.Comment: revised, publication information adde
Chemical Instability of the Cobalt Oxyhydrate Superconductor under Ambient Conditions
The layered sodium cobalt oxyhydrate superconductor Na0.3CoO2*1.4H2O is shown
through X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric studies to be one of a series
of hydrated phases of Na0.3CoO2. Further, it is shown that the material is
exceptionally sensitive to both temperature and humidity near ambient
conditions, easily dehydrating to a non-superconducting lower hydrate. The
observation of this stable lower hydrate with c=13.8 angstroms implies that the
superconductivity turns on in this system between CoO2 layer spacings of 6.9
and 9.9 angstroms at nominally constant chemical doping.Comment: 10 pages and 4 figure