Single Crystal Growth and Physical Property Characterization of Non-centrosymmetric Superconductor PbTaSe2**Supported by the National Basic Research Program of China under Grant Nos 2015CB921303, 2011CBA00100 and 2012CB821404, the Strategic Priority Research Program (B) of Chinese Academy of Sciences under Grant Nos XDB07020100 and XDB07020200, and the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No 11174350.

Abstract

We report on the single crystal growth and superconducting properties of PbTaSe2 with the non-centrosymmetric crystal structure. By using the chemical vapor transport technique, centimeter-size single crystals are successfully obtained. The measurement of temperature dependence of electrical resistivity ρ(T) in both normal and superconducting states indicates a quasi-two-dimensional electronic state in contrast to that of polycrystalline samples. Specific heat C(T) measurement reveals a bulk superconductivity with Tc ≃ 3.75 K and a specific heat jump ratio of 1.42. All these results are in agreement with a moderately electron–phonon coupled, type-II Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer superconductor.