Structure and superconducting transition in splat-cooled U–T alloys (T = Mo, Pd, Pt)

• Splat-cooled U–6 at.% Mo, U–5 at.% Pd, U–5 at.% Pt alloys become superconducting below 1 K.
• U–5 at.% Pd and U–5 at.% Pt reveal only one resistivity jump at Tc.
• Two distinguishable resistivity drops were observed for U–6 at.% Mo.
• A broad maximum was observed at Tc in the specific heat.
• Those splats consist of two phases having orthorhombic α- and cubic γ-U structure.

U–T (T = Mo, Pd, Pt) alloys were prepared by splat cooling technique and characterized by X-ray diffraction. The resistivity and specific heat measurements were performed down to 0.3 K to study their superconductivity. The superconducting transition in the alloy with 6 at.% Mo (U–6%Mo) revealed by a smooth decrease below 1.5 K and a sharp drop at 0.6 K in the resistivity, while a single sharp drop was revealed at Tc ≈ 0.8 K for those with 5 at.% Pd and Pt doping (U–5%Pd and U–5%Pt). With applying magnetic fields, the resistivity drops move to lower temperatures. The superconductivity transitions were revealed by only one broad peak at Tc in the C(T) curves.

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