Superconductivity in Mg-Doped Layered Intermetallic Compound NbB2

We have performed low temperature resistivity ?(T) and specific heat C(T) measurements on a superconducting polycrystalline Nb0.75Mg0.25B2 sample. The results indicate that the superconducting transition temperature is ~ 4.6 K. The zero temperature upper critical field determined from the resistivity and specific heat is 3123 Oe. The electronic coefficient of specific heat ?n = 4.51 mJmol?1K2 and the Debye temperature ?D = 419K are obtained by fitting the zero-field specific heat data in the normal state. At low temperatures, the electronic specific heat in the superconducting state follows Ces/?nTc = 2.84exp(-1.21Tc/T). This indicates that the superconducting pairing in Nb0.75Mg0.25B2 has s-wave symmetry.