Superconductivity and Charge-Density-Wave-Like Transition in Th2Cu4As5.

We report the synthesis, crystal structure, and physical properties of a novel ternary compound, Th2Cu4As5. The material crystallizes in a tetragonal structure with lattice parameters a = 4.0639(3) Å and c = 24.8221(17) Å. Its structure can be described as an alternating stacking of fluorite-type Th2As2 layers with antifluorite-type double-layered Cu4As3 slabs. The measurement of electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat reveals that Th2Cu4As5 undergoes bulk superconducting transition at 4.2 K. Additionally, all these physical quantities exhibit anomalies at 48 K, accompanied by a sign change in the Hall coefficient, suggesting a charge-density-wave-like (CDW) phase transition. Drawing from both experimental data and band calculations, we propose that the superconducting and CDW-like phase transitions are, respectively, associated with the Cu4As3 slabs and the As plane in the Th2As2 layers.

ThCr2Si2C: An Antiferromagnetic Metal with a Cr2C Square Lattice.

A quaternary compound, ThCr2Si2C, was synthesized by using the arc-melting technique. The compound adopts a tetragonal CeCr2Si2C-type crystal structure. The electronic resistivity and specific heat data exhibit metallic behavior, while the magnetic susceptibility displays a pronounced broad peak at around 370 K, indicating the antiferromagnetic phase transition. The first-principles calculations suggest A-type antiferromagnetic ordering of the Cr sublattice, which is confirmed by neutron diffraction experiments. By comparing the crystal structure of ThCr2Si2C with the isostructural Cr-based compounds, the magnetic state of Cr 3d orbital is discussed in terms of the band-filling effects and indirect spin exchange interaction.

ThMnPnN (Pn = P, As): Synthesis, Structure, and Chemical Pressure Effects.

Mn-based ZrCuSiAs-type pnictides ThMnPnN (Pn = P, As) containing PbO-type Th2N2 layers were synthesized. The crystal and magnetic structures are determined using X-ray and neutron powder diffraction. While neutron diffraction indicates a C-type antiferromagnetic state at 300 K, the temperature dependence of the magnetic susceptibility shows cusps at 36 and 52 K respectively for ThMnPN and ThMnAsN. The susceptibility cusps are ascribed to a spontaneous antiferromagnetic-to-antiferromagnetic transition for Mn2+ moments, which is observed for the first time in Mn-based ZrCuSiAs-type compounds. In addition, measurements of the resistivity and specific heat suggest an abnormal increase in the density of states at the Fermi energy. The result is discussed in terms of the internal chemical pressure effect.

A New ZrCuSiAs-Type Superconductor: ThFeAsN.

We report the first nitrogen-containing iron-pnictide superconductor ThFeAsN, which is synthesized by a solid-state reaction in an evacuated container. The compound crystallizes in a ZrCuSiAs-type structure with the space group P4/nmm and lattice parameters a = 4.0367(1) Å and c = 8.5262(2) Å at 300 K. The electrical resistivity and dc magnetic susceptibility measurements indicate superconductivity at 30 K for the nominally undoped ThFeAsN.

Peculiar phase diagram with isolated superconducting regions in ThFeAsN1-x O x.

ThFeAsN1-x O x ([Formula: see text]) system with heavy electron doping has been studied by the measurements of x-ray diffraction, electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. The non-doped compound exhibits superconductivity at [Formula: see text] K, which is possibly due to an internal uniaxial chemical pressure that is manifested by the extremely small value of As height with respect to the Fe plane. With the oxygen substitution, the T c value decreases rapidly to below 2 K for [Formula: see text], and surprisingly, superconductivity re-appears in the range of [Formula: see text] with a maximum [Formula: see text] of 17.5 K at x = 0.3. For the normal-state resistivity, while the samples in intermediate non-superconducting interval exhibit Fermi liquid behavior, those in other regions show a non-Fermi-liquid behavior. The specific heat jump for the superconducting sample of x = 0.4 is [Formula: see text], which is discussed in terms of anisotropic superconducting gap. The peculiar phase diagram in ThFeAsN1-x O x presents additional ingredients for understanding the superconducting mechanism in iron-based superconductors.