Bulk Superconductivity in Pressurized Trilayer Nickelate <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Pr</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>4</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>Ni</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>3</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi mathvariant="normal">O</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>10</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> </mml:mrow> </mml:math> Single Crystals
Enkang Zhang, Di Peng, Yinghao Zhu, Lixing Chen, Bingkun Cui, X. Wang, Wenbin Wang, Qiaoshi Zeng, Jun Zhao
Abstract
The discovery of superconductivity in pressurized bilayer and trilayer nickelates has generated significant interest. However, their superconducting properties are often dependent on sample quality and pressure conditions, complicating the interpretation of the underlying physics. Finding new systems with optimized bulk superconducting properties is therefore important for advancing our understanding of these materials. Unlike cuprates, where trilayer compounds typically exhibit the highest transition temperature ( <a:math xmlns:a="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <a:mrow> <a:msub> <a:mi>T</a:mi> <a:mi>c</a:mi> </a:msub> </a:mrow> </a:math> ), the bilayer nickelate <c:math xmlns:c="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <c:mrow> <c:msub> <c:mrow> <c:mi>La</c:mi> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:mn>3</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msub> <c:msub> <c:mrow> <c:mi>Ni</c:mi> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:mn>2</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msub> <c:msub> <c:mrow> <c:mi mathvariant="normal">O</c:mi> </c:mrow> <c:mrow> <c:mn>7</c:mn> </c:mrow> </c:msub> </c:mrow> </c:math> has thus far outperformed the trilayer <f:math xmlns:f="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <f:mrow> <f:msub> <f:mrow> <f:mi>La</f:mi> </f:mrow> <f:mrow> <f:mn>4</f:mn> </f:mrow> </f:msub> <f:msub> <f:mrow> <f:mi>Ni</f:mi> </f:mrow> <f:mrow> <f:mn>3</f:mn> </f:mrow> </f:msub> <f:msub> <f:mrow> <f:mi mathvariant="normal">O</f:mi> </f:mrow> <f:mrow> <f:mn>1</f:mn> <f:mn>0</f:mn> </f:mrow> </f:msub> </f:mrow> </f:math> in reported <i:math xmlns:i="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <i:mrow> <i:msub> <i:mi>T</i:mi> <i:mi>c</i:mi> </i:msub> </i:mrow> </i:math> . Whether the trilayer nickelates have achieved the optimal <k:math xmlns:k="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <k:mrow> <k:msub> <k:mi>T</k:mi> <k:mi>c</k:mi> </k:msub> </k:mrow> </k:math> remains unclear, with various scenarios suggesting different possibilities. Here, we report the discovery of bulk superconductivity in pressurized <m:math xmlns:m="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <m:mrow> <m:msub> <m:mrow> <m:mi>Pr</m:mi> </m:mrow> <m:mrow> <m:mn>4</m:mn> </m:mrow> </m:msub> <m:msub> <m:mrow> <m:mi>Ni</m:mi> </m:mrow> <m:mrow> <m:mn>3</m:mn> </m:mrow> </m:msub> <m:msub> <m:mrow> <m:mi mathvariant="normal">O</m:mi> </m:mrow> <m:mrow> <m:mn>10</m:mn> </m:mrow> </m:msub> </m:mrow> </m:math> single crystals, achieving a maximum onset <p:math xmlns:p="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <p:mrow> <p:msub> <p:mi>T</p:mi> <p:mi>c</p:mi> </p:msub> </p:mrow> </p:math> of 40.5 K at 80.1 GPa, significantly exceeding the 30 K observed in <r:math xmlns:r="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <r:mrow> <r:msub> <r:mrow> <r:mi>La</r:mi> </r:mrow> <r:mrow> <r:mn>4</r:mn> </r:mrow> </r:msub> <r:msub> <r:mrow> <r:mi>Ni</r:mi> </r:mrow> <r:mrow> <r:mn>3</r:mn> </r:mrow> </r:msub> <r:msub> <r:mrow> <r:mi mathvariant="normal">O</r:mi> </r:mrow> <r:mrow> <r:mn>1</r:mn> <r:mn>0</r:mn> </r:mrow> </r:msub> </r:mrow> </r:math> . The bulk nature of superconductivity is confirmed by zero resistance and a strong diamagnetic response below <u:math xmlns:u="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <u:mrow> <u:msub> <u:mi>T</u:mi> <u:mi>c</u:mi> </u:msub> </u:mrow> </u:math> , with a superconducting volume fraction exceeding 80%. These findings establish trilayer nickelates as genuine bulk high-temperature superconductors, provide new insights into the mechanisms driving superconductivity, and point to a promising route toward further enhancing superconducting properties in nickelates.