Superconductivity in breathing kagome-structured C14 Laves phase XOs2(X = Zr, Hf)

Abstract

Recently, the emergence of superconductivity in kagome metals has generated significant interest due to its interaction with flat bands and topological electronic states, which exhibit a range of unusual quantum characteristics. This study thoroughly investigates largely unexplored breathing kagome structure C14 Laves phase compounds XOs2 (X = Zr, Hf) by XRD, electrical transport, magnetization, and specific heat measurements. Our analyses confirm the presence of the MgZn2-type structure in ZrOs2 and HfOs2 compounds, exhibiting type-II superconductivity with critical temperature ( TC ) values of 2.90(3) K and 2.69(6) K, respectively. Furthermore, specific heat measurements and electron–phonon coupling constants for both compounds indicate weakly coupled fully gapped superconductivity.