Nickel-Based Oxyphosphide Superconductor with a Layered Crystal Structure, LaNiOP

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Abstract
A layered oxyphosphide, LaNiOP, was synthesized by solid-state reactions. This crystal was confirmed to have a layered structure composed of an alternating stack of (La3+O2-)+ and (Ni2+P3-)-. We found that the resulting LaNiOP shows a superconducting transition at ∼3 K. This material exhibited metallic conduction and Pauli paramagnetism in the temperature range of 4−300 K. The resistivity sharply dropped to zero and the magnetic susceptibility became negative at <4 K, indicating that a superconducting transition occurs. The volume fraction of the superconducting phase estimated from the diamagnetic susceptibility reached ∼40 vol % at 1.8 K, substantiating that LaNiOP is a bulk superconductor.