Preparation of Superconducting Na(x)(H2O)yCoO2 using NaMnO4 as the deintercalation and oxidation agent

We have used aqueous NaMnO4 solution as the deintercalation and oxidation agent to treat gamma-Na0.7CoO2 powders and to successfully obtain superconducting sodium cobalt oxyhydrates, Nax(H2O)yCoO2, with onset Tc approximately 4.6 K without using highly toxic Br2/CH3CN solution. Chemical analyses indicate that the sodium content x decreases with increasing concentration of NaMnO4 solution and depends slightly on the immersion time. Unlike using a high concentration of aqueous KMnO4 as the deintercalation and oxidation agent, all the hydrated products are the c approximately 19.6 A phase with bilayers of water molecules intercalated between the CoO2 layers and sodium layers because of the absence of K+ in the Na+ layers.