Superconductivity in a new quaternary phase with HgSm0.5In0.5Pb2 composition

This work reports a systematic study on the structural and superconducting properties in the Hg–Sm–In–Pb system. It is investigated how In and Sm dopings influence the superconducting properties of the HgPb2 phase which was recently reported. Results for the HgSm1 − xPb2 system show that Sm atoms substitute Hg vacancies in the tetragonal phase which do not affect the onset critical temperature of the HgPb2 compound. Simultaneous Sm and In doping effects on the properties of the HgPb2 phase are also studied. Experimental and simulations of X-ray powder diffractograms suggest that the HgSm1 − xInxPb2 system (0.2 ≤ x ≤ 0.7) has a pseudo-cubic structure with lattice parameters near 4.88 Å. Superconducting properties measurements show that this system has an optimum doping at x ∼ 0.5 with the onset critical temperature close to 6.9 K. This is the highest superconducting critical temperature for the AuCu prototype so far reported.