Abstract

Results are reported for single crystals of the PbFCl-type layered compound ZrP1.27Se0.73 that were produced using the iodine vapor transport method. Electrical transport, magnetization, and heat capacity measurements reveal disordered metallic behavior and the occurrence of bulk superconductivity, with a transition temperature (Tc) of 7.1 K and an anisotropic orbitally limited upper critical field. P31 nuclear magnetic resonance measurements provide additional microscopic information, where the line shape, Knight shift, and spin-lattice relaxation data are consistent with the superconductivity originating from the corrugated Zr-P(2c)/Se plane. This suggests that the superconductivity first forms in the corrugated plane and the bulk superconductivity eventually occurs via coupling between the square planar layers. These data also show that either there are multiple superconducting gaps or there is a single gap that does not fully open across the entire Fermi surface. These results clarify the superconducting state in this material and will enable further measurements that require single-crystal specimens.

Department(s)

Physics, Astronomy, and Materials Science

Document Type

Article

DOI

https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevB.102.144522

Rights Information

© 2020 American Physical Society

Publication Date

10-22-2020

Journal Title

Physical Review B - Condensed Matter and Materials Physics

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