Crystal structure and superconducting properties of KSr2Nb3O10

Abstract We performed X-ray diffraction (XRD) and DC magnetic susceptibility measurements to elucidate the crystal structure and superconducting properties of KSr 2 Nb 3 O 10 . From the diffraction pattern indexing, it was found that KSr 2 Nb 3 O 10 crystallizes with monoclinic symmetry, space group P 2 1 / m (11). We succeeded in preparing high temperature (HT) and low temperature (LT) phases of KSr 2 Nb 3 O 10 powder samples synthesized by a conventional solid state reaction and an ion-exchange reaction, respectively. Superconductivity was observed at 4 K by Li intercalation and it was found that the superconducting volume fraction of the LT phase (~ 1.4%) is clearly larger than that of the HT phase (0.07%).