Abstract
We have systematically investigated and compared different methods to induce superconductivity in the iron chalcogenide Fe1+yTe0.6Se0.4, including annealing in a vacuum, N2, O2 and I2 atmospheres and immersing samples into acid and alcoholic beverages. Vacuum and N2 annealing are proved to be ineffective in inducing superconductivity in a Fe1+yTe0.6Se0.4 single crystal. Annealing in O2 and I2 and immersion in acid and alcoholic beverages can induce superconductivity by oxidizing the excess Fe in the sample. Superconductivity in O2 annealed samples is of a bulk nature, while I2, acid and alcoholic beverages can only induce superconductivity near the surface. By comparing the different effects of O2, I2, acid and alcoholic beverages we propose a scenario to explain how the superconductivity is induced in the non-superconducting as-grown Fe1+yTe0.6Se0.4.
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