Novel Synthesis and Search for Superconductivity in the Fe1−xNixZr3 System
4th Global Conference of Innovation Materials & MRS-K Spring Meeting (GCIM 2026), Jeju-Si, Güney Kore, 31 Mayıs 2026, (Özet Bildiri)
- Yayın Türü: Bildiri / Özet Bildiri
- Basıldığı Şehir: Jeju-Si
- Basıldığı Ülke: Güney Kore
- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
Transition-metal (Tr) zirconides with a tetragonal CuAl2-type structure, TrZr2, are a recognized family of superconductors where the transition temperature (Tc) is highly sensitive to the Tr-site element. Recently, it has been reported that the Fe1−xNixZr2 system exhibits a dome-shaped superconductivity phase diagram induced by Fe/Ni substitution [1]. In contrast, FeZr3, which crystallizes in the orthorhombic Re3B-type structure, does not exhibit bulk superconductivity in its undoped form. In this study, we explored new superconducting phases by Ni substitution into FeZr3. X-ray diffraction patterns of Fe1−xNixZr3 were successfully indexed with the orthorhombic Re3Btype structure as the primary phase for all compositions. Detailed structural evaluation revealed that the lattice constant of the c-axis systematically increased as a function of Ni concentration x. SEMEDX analysis verified systematic Ni substitution into the target phase with actual concentrations found to be comparable to the nominal values. Magnetization measurements revealed that while the parent compound FeZr3 lacks superconductivity, the introduction of Ni leads to the emergence of a superconducting state for x ≥ 0.40. The transition temperature (Tc) increased systematically with x, reaching a maximum Tc of approximately 2.9 K at x = 0.50. The emergence of superconductivity is likely governed by the modulation of the electronic state at the Tr-site. Since CoZr3 (nine valence electrons) is a known superconductor, the solid solution of Fe (eight) and Ni (ten) is expected to tune the average valence electron count toward that of Co [2]. This suggests that achieving a Co-like electronic configuration through Fe/Ni mixing is a critical factor in stabilizing the superconducting phase within the Re3Btype structure. These results provide a new strategy for discovering superconductors by simulating the electronic environment of known materials through binary transition-metal substitution.