High pressure effects on non-fluorinated BiS2-based superconductors La$_{1-x}$M$_x$OBiS$_2$ (M = Ti and Th)

TL;DR

This study investigates how high pressure influences the superconducting and normal state properties of non-fluorinated LaOBiS$_2$-based superconductors with Ti and Th substitutions, revealing phase transitions and the suppression of superconductivity.

Contribution

It provides new insights into the pressure-induced phase behavior and superconductivity suppression in non-fluorinated LaOBiS$_2$ compounds with tetravalent ion substitutions.

Findings

Superconducting $T_c$ increases with pressure up to ~1 GPa, then decreases and broadens.

Discontinuous resistivity changes occur at ~0.6 GPa, indicating phase transitions.

High pressure induces a non-superconducting phase in Ti and Th substituted compounds.

Abstract

Layered \textit{Ln}OBiS$_2$ compounds with \textit{Ln} = La, Ce, Pr, Nd, and Yb can be rendered conducting and superconducting via two routes, substitution of F for O or the tetravalent ions Ti, Zr, Hf, and Th for trivalent \textit{Ln} ions. Electrical resistivity measurements on non-fluorinated La$_{0.80}$Ti$_{0.20}$OBiS$_2$ and La$_{0.85}$Th$_{0.15}$OBiS$_2$ superconductors were performed between $\sim$1.5 K and 300 K and under pressure up to 2.4 GPa. For both compounds, the superconducting transition temperature $T_c$, which is $\sim$2.9 K at ambient pressure, gradually increases with pressure to 3.2-3.7 K at $\sim$1 GPa, above which it is suppressed and the superconducting transitions become very broad. Measurements of the normal state electrical resistivity of the two compounds reveal discontinuous changes of the resistivity as a function of pressure at $\sim$0.6 GPa. Surprisingly, above 1.3 GPa, semiconducting-like behavior reappears in La$_{0.80}$Ti$_{0.20}$OBiS$_2$. This study reveals a new high-pressure phase of La$_{1-x}$$M$$_x$OBiS$_2$ containing the tetravalent ions $M$ = Ti, Th which does not favor superconductivity. In contrast, application of pressure to fluorinated LaO$_0.5$F$_0.5$BiS$_2$ produces an abrupt tetragonal-monoclinic transition to a metallic phase with an enhanced $T_c$. These results demonstrate that the response of the normal and superconducting properties of LaOBiS$_2$-based compounds depends strongly on the atomic site where the electron donor ions are substituted.