(Sr_3Sc_2O_5)Fe_2As_2 as a possible parent compound for FeAs-based superconductors

TL;DR

A new layered FeAs compound, (Sr_3Sc_2O_5)Fe_2As_2, was synthesized, showing unique structural features and absence of typical SDW transition, suggesting potential as a parent for FeAs-based superconductors.

Contribution

This study reports the fabrication and structural characterization of a novel FeAs-layered compound with enlarged interlayer spacing and unusual magnetic and transport properties.

Findings

No resistivity anomaly or SDW transition observed.

Enlarged interlayer spacing may suppress magnetic ordering.

Negative, temperature-dependent Hall coefficient indicates multi-band conduction.

Abstract

A new compound with the FeAs-layers, namely (Sr_3Sc_2O_5)Fe_2As_2 (abbreviated as FeAs-32522), was successfully fabricated. It has a layered structure with the space group of I4/mmm, and with the lattice constants a = 4.069 $\AA$ and c = 26.876 $\AA$. The in-plane Fe ions construct a square lattice which is close to that of other FeAs-based superconductors, such as REFeAsO (RE = rare earth elements) and (Ba,Sr)Fe_2As_2. However the inter FeAs-layer spacing in the new compound is greatly enlarged. The temperature dependence of resistivity exhibits a weak upturn in the low temperature region, but a metallic behavior was observed above about 60 K. The magnetic susceptibility shows also a non-monotonic behavior. Interestingly, the well-known resistivity anomaly which was discovered in all other parent compounds, such as REFeAsO, (Ba,Sr)Fe_2As_2 and (Sr,Ca,Eu)FeAsF and associated with the Spin-Density-Wave (SDW)/structural transition has not been found in the new system either on the resistivity data or the magnetization data. This could be induced by the large spacing distance between the FeAs-planes, therefore the antiferromagnetic correlation between the moments of Fe ions in neighboring FeAs-layers cannot be established. Alternatively it can also be attributed to the self-doping effect between Fe and Sc ions. The Hall coefficient R_H is negative but strongly temperature dependent in wide temperature region, which indicates the dominance of electrical conduction by electron-like charge carriers and probably a multi-band effect or a spin related scattering effect. It is found that the magnetoresistance cannot be described by the Kohler's rule, which gives further support to above arguments.