Professor Stephen Blundell

Abstract:

A muon-spin relaxation (μ+SR) investigation is presented for the molecular superconductor κ-(BEDT-TTF)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br. Evidence is found for low-temperature phase separation throughout the bulk of the material, with only a fraction of the sample showing a superconducting signal, even for slow cooling. Rapid cooling reduces the superconducting fraction still further. For the superconducting phase, the in-plane penetration depth is measured to be λ||=0.47(1)μm, and evidence is seen for a vortex decoupling transition in applied fields above 40 mT. The magnetic fluctuations in the normal state produce a precipitous drop in relaxation rate above 100 K, and we discuss the possible causes for the unusual relaxation that we observe for T>Tc. © 2011 American Physical Society.

Abstract:

Although the coexistence of superconductivity and ferromagnetism in one compound is rare, some examples of such materials are known to exist. Methods to physically prepare hybrid structures with both competing phases are also known, which rely on the nanofabrication of alternating conducting layers. Chemical methods of building up hybrid materials with organic molecules (superconducting layers) and metal complexes (magnetic layers) have provided examples of superconductivity with some magnetic properties, but not fully ordered. Now, we report a chemical design strategy that uses the self assembly in solution of macromolecular nanosheet building blocks to engineer the coexistence of superconductivity and magnetism in [Ni(0.66)Al(0.33)(OH)(2)][TaS(2)] at ∼4 K. The method is further demonstrated in the isostructural [Ni(0.66)Fe(0.33)(OH)(2)][TaS(2)], in which the magnetic ordering is shifted from 4 K to 16 K.