Emergence of superconductivity near the structural phase boundary in Pt-doped IrTe2 single crystals

•Single crystals of Ir1−xPtxTe2 were successfully synthesized and characterized.•The electronic phase diagram of Ir1−xPtxTe2 was shown.•We found a broad hysteresis of magnetization in pure IrTe2.

Single crystals of Ir1−xPtxTe2 were synthesized and characterized. The low-temperature monoclinic phase of IrTe2 is suppressed and disappears with slight Pt doping. The breaking of the Ir–Ir bonds, a characteristic of the low-temperature monoclinic phase in pure IrTe2, is accompanied by the emergence of a superconducting phase. The Pt-content dependence of the structural phase-transition temperature and the superconducting transition temperature in single crystals adequately reproduced those in polycrystals. We also found a broad hysteresis of magnetization throughout a wide range of temperatures in pure IrTe2.