Syntheses and Properties of k-Phase Organic Superconductors

Abstract

ABSTRACTThe syntheses and physical properties of K-(ET)2CU[N(CN)2]X (X = Br and Cl) are summarized. The K-(ET)2Cu [N(CN)2] Br salt is the highest Tc radical-cation based ambient pressure organic superconductor (Tc = 11.6 K), and the K-(ET)2CU [N(CN)2] C1 salt becomes a superconductor at even higher Tc under 0.3 kbar hydrostatic pressure (Tc = 12.8 K). The similarities and differences between K-(ET)2Cu[N(CN)2]Br and K-(ET)2CU(NCS)2 (TC = 10.4 K) are presented. The X-ray structures at 127 K reveal that the S-S contacts shorten between ET dimers in the former compound while the S-S contacts shorten within dimers in the latter. The differences in their ESR linewidth behavior is also explained in terms of the structural differences. A semiconducting compound, (ET)Cu[N(CN)2]2, isolated during K-(ET)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl synthesis is also reported. The ESR measurements of the K-(ET)2Cu[N(CN)2]Cl salt indicate that the phase transition near 40 K is similar to the spin density wave transition in (TMTSF)2SbF6. A new class of organic superconductors, K-(ET)2CU2(CN)3 and K-(ET)2Cu2(CN)3.δBrδ, is reported with Tc's of 2.8 K (1.5 kbar) and 2.6 K (1 kbar), respectively.