Synthesis and characterization of bulk Nd1-xSrxNiO2 and Nd1-xSrxNiO3

TL;DR

This study synthesizes and characterizes bulk Nd1-xSrxNiO2 and Nd1-xSrxNiO3, exploring their structural, electronic, and magnetic properties, but does not observe superconductivity in the bulk samples.

Contribution

It introduces a combined sol-gel combustion and high-pressure annealing method for synthesizing these nickelates and investigates their phase evolution and properties.

Findings

Nd1-xSrxNiO3 exhibits an insulator-metal transition between x=0 and 0.1.

Bulk Nd1-xSrxNiO2 does not show superconductivity.

Structural analysis shows no magnetic order at 3 K in Nd0.9Sr0.1NiO2.

Abstract

The recent reports of superconductivity in Nd1-xSrxNiO2/SrTiO3 heterostructures have reinvigorated interest in potential superconductivity of low-valence nickelates. Synthesis of Ni1+-containing compounds is notoriously difficult. In the current work, a combined sol-gel combustion and high-pressure annealing technique was employed to prepare polycrystalline perovskite Nd1-xSrxNiO3 (x = 0, 0.1 and 0.2). Metal nitrates and metal acetates were used as starting materials, and the latter were found to be superior to the former in terms of safety and reactivity. The Nd1-xSrxNiO3 compounds were subsequently reduced to Nd1 xSrxNiO2 using calcium hydride in a sealed, evacuated quartz tube. To understand the synthesis pathway, the evolution from NdNiO3 to NdNiO2 was monitored using in-situ synchrotron X ray diffraction during the reduction process. Electrical transport properties were consistent with an insulator-metal transition occurring between x = 0 and 0.1 for Nd1-xSrxNiO3. Superconductivity was not observed in our bulk samples of Nd1-xSrxNiO2. Neutron diffraction experiments at 3 K and 300 K were performed on Nd0.9Sr0.1NiO2, in which no magnetic Bragg reflections were observed, and the results of structural Rietveld refinement are provided.