Absence of superconductivity in LiCu2P2.
We successfully synthesized the copper-based pnictide LiCu(2)P(2), which was reported as a superconductor with T(c) = 3.7 K before. The temperature dependence of resistivity and DC magnetization was measured on both polycrystalline and single-crystalline LiCu(2)P(2). However, our repeatable synthesizing and measurements showed no superconducting transition either in resistivity or DC magnetization above 2 K. A metallic behavior can be seen in resistivity, and a Curie-Weiss behavior was observed in DC magnetization from 2 to 300 K. We have also carried out the Hall effect and MR measurements on the sample, from which we conclude that the LiCu(2)P(2) has a single-band character. We also synthesized the polycrystalline Li(1-x)Cu(2)P(2), LiCu(2-x)P(2), and Li(1+x)Cu(2-x)P(2) with different stoichiometries, and observed no superconductivity in all the samples.
National Laboratory for Superconductivity, Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, P.O. Box 603, Beijing 100190, China.
Fei
F
Han
Xiyu
X
Zhu
Gang
G
Mu
Bin
B
Zeng
Peng
P
Cheng
Bing
B
Shen
Hai-Hu
HH
Wen