Superconductivity at 5 K in quasi-one-dimensional Cr-based KCr3As3 single crystals

TL;DR

This paper reports the discovery of superconductivity at 5 K in a quasi-one-dimensional KCr3As3 single crystal, expanding the understanding of Cr-based superconductors with unique structural features.

Contribution

It introduces a new KCr3As3 superconductor with a centrosymmetric structure, differing from related compounds, and demonstrates its bulk superconductivity through various measurements.

Findings

Superconductivity at 5 K in KCr3As3 crystals.

Successful synthesis via deintercalation from K2Cr3As3.

Distinct centrosymmetric crystal structure.

Abstract

Recently a new family of Cr-based A2Cr3As3 (A = K, Rb, Cs) superconductors were reported, which own a rare quasi-one-dimensional (Q1D) crystal structure with infinite (Cr3As3)2- chains and exhibit intriguing superconducting characteristics possibly derived from spin-triplet electron pairing. The crystal structure of A2Cr3As3 is actually a slight variation of the hexagonal TlFe3Te3 prototype although they have different lattice symmetry. Here we report superconductivity in a 133-type KCr3As3 compound that belongs to the latter structure. The single crystals of KCr3As3 were prepared by the deintercalation of K ions from K2Cr3As3 crystals which were grown from a high-temperature solution growth method, and it owns a centrosymmetric lattice in contrast to the non-centrosymmetric K2Cr3As3. After annealing at a moderate temperature, the KCr3As3 crystals show bulk superconductivity at 5 K revealed by electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and heat capacity measurements. The discovery of this KCr3As3 superconductor provides a different structural instance to study the exotic superconductivity in these Q1D Cr-based superconductors.