Caging-Pnictogen-Induced Superconductivity in Skutterudites IrX3 (X = As, P)
Cuiying Pei, Tianping Ying, Qinghua Zhang, Xianxin Wu, Tongxu Yu, Yi, Zhao, Lingling Gao, Changhua Li, Weizheng Cao, Qing Zhang, Andreas P., Schnyder, Lin Gu, Xiaolong Chen, Hideo Hosono, Yanpeng Qi

TL;DR
This study reports the discovery of hole-doped skutterudite superconductors XδIr4X12-δ (X = P, As), highlighting their unique electronic states, pressure effects on Tc, and a novel doping strategy without extra elements.
Contribution
It introduces the first hole-doped skutterudite superconductors and demonstrates a new doping method using caged structures without adding additional elements.
Findings
Superconductivity with Tc up to 4.8 K in IrAs3 and IrP3.
Electronic states dominated by caged X atoms, differing from electron-doped skutterudites.
Pressure influences local phonon modes and enhances Tc.
Abstract
Here we report on a new kind of compound, X{\delta}Ir4X12-{\delta} (X = P, As), the first hole-doped skutterudites superconductor. We provide atomic resolution images of the caging As atoms using scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM). By inserting As atoms into the caged structure under a high pressure, superconductivity emerges with a maximum transition temperature (Tc) of 4.4 K (4.8 K) in IrAs3 (IrP3). In contrast to all of the electron-doped skutterudites, the electronic states around the Fermi level in X{\delta}Ir4X12-{\delta} are dominated by the caged X atom, which can be described by a simple body-centered tight-binding model, implying a distinct paring mechanism. Our density functional theory (DFT) calculations reveal an intimate relationship between the pressure-dependent local-phonon mode and the enhancement of Tc. The discovery of X{\delta}Ir4X12-{\delta} provides…
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