Superconductivity in alkali-doped fullerene nanowhiskers

Superconductivity in alkali metal-doped fullerene nanowhiskers (C60NWs) was observed in K3.3C60NWs, Rb3.0C60NWs and Cs2.0Rb1.0C60NWs with transition temperatures at 17, 25 and 26 K, respectively. Almost full shielding volume fraction (~80%) was observed in K3.3C60NWs when subjected to thermal treatment at 200 °C for a duration of 24 h. In contrast, the shielding fraction of Rb3.0C60NWs and Cs2.0Rb1.0C60NWs were calculated to be 8% and 6%, respectively. Here we report on an extensive investigation of the superconducting properties of these AC60NWs (A  =  K3.3, Rb3.0 and Cs2.0Rb1.0). These properties are compared to the ones reported on the corresponding conventional (single-crystal or powder) K-doped fullerene. We also evaluated the critical current densities of these C60NWs using the Bean model under an applied magnetic field up to 50 kOe.