Effect of superconductivity by Nb and V substitution in kagome CaPd5

TL;DR

This study discovers and analyzes new kagome superconductors CaMxPd5-x with Nb and V substitutions, revealing their stability, superconducting properties, and topological features, and demonstrates how substitution enhances Tc.

Contribution

It introduces a new class of kagome superconductors CaMxPd5-x with Nb and V, providing insights into their stability, superconductivity, and topological characteristics, advancing material design.

Findings

CaNb5 is a strong EPC superconductor with Tc of 10.1 K, increased to 12.8 K under pressure.

CaV5, CaNb2Pd3, and CaV2Pd3 have weaker EPC and lower Tc.

CaNb5 exhibits topological and nodal features relevant for superconductivity.

Abstract

Materials featuring kagome lattices have attracted significant research interest due to their unique geometric frustration, which gives rise to rich physical phenomena such as non-trivial topology, spin fluctuations, and superconductivity. In this work, using CaPd5 as the prototype structure, we discover and systematically investigate a new class of kagome superconductors, CaMxPd5-x (M = Nb and V) alloys. First-principles calculations confirm that these compounds are non-magnetic metals, among which four are dynamically stable: CaNb5, CaV5, CaNb2Pd3, and CaV2Pd3. CaNb5 is identified as a strong electron-phonon coupling (EPC) superconductor with the highest superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 10.1 K, which can be further increased to 12.8 K under external pressure. In contrast, CaV5, CaNb2Pd3, and CaV2Pd3 exhibit weaker EPC and correspondingly lower Tc values. Furthermore, by applying the method of symmetry indicators, we systematically classify the topological and nodal characteristics of CaNb5, providing valuable insights for determining its superconducting pairing symmetry. Our findings demonstrate that Nb and V substitution in kagome CaPd5 provides an effective route for designing a new type of kagome superconductor with relatively high Tc. This study also offers new perspectives on topological superconductivity in kagome systems and establishes a useful guideline for discovering other superconducting materials with unique properties.