Superconductivity in MgPtSi: An orthorhombic variant of MgB2

TL;DR

This paper reports the synthesis and characterization of MgPtSi, an orthorhombic superconductor with a structure similar to MgB2, and discusses its superconducting properties and structural features.

Contribution

It introduces MgPtSi as a new orthorhombic superconductor with a MgB2-like layered structure, expanding understanding of structure-property relationships in superconducting materials.

Findings

MgPtSi exhibits superconductivity at 2.5 K.

MgRhSi and MgIrSi do not show superconductivity.

MgPtSi has an orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure with layered Mg and PtSi.

Abstract

A ternary compound, MgPtSi, was synthesized by solid-state reaction. An examination of the compound by powder X-ray diffraction revealed that it crystallizes in the orthorhombic TiNiSi-type structure with the Pnma space group. The structure comprises alternately stacked layers of Mg and PtSi honeycomb network, which is reminiscent of MgB2, and the buckling of the honeycomb network causes orthorhombic distortion. Electrical and magnetic studies revealed that MgPtSi exhibited superconductivity with a transition temperature of 2.5 K. However, its isostructural compounds, namely, MgRhSi and MgIrSi, were not found to exhibit superconductivity.