Superconductivity in Quasi-One-Dimensional Ferromagnet CrSbSe₃ under High Pressure

Area of Science:

• Condensed Matter Physics
• Materials Science
• Solid-State Chemistry

Background:

• Superconductivity in chromium-based compounds remains underexplored, with limited known structure types.
• Understanding the interplay between magnetism and superconductivity in chromium systems is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To discover new chromium-based superconductors.
• To investigate the pressure-induced phase transitions and superconductivity in CrSbSe3.
• To explore superconductivity in quasi-one-dimensional materials.

Main Methods:

• High-pressure synthesis and characterization of CrSbSe3.
• Electrical resistivity measurements under varying pressure and temperature.
• Analysis of structural phase transitions and metallization.

Main Results:

• Superconductivity observed in CrSbSe3 at 32.8 GPa, coinciding with metallization.
• A maximum superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 7.7 K was achieved at 57.9 GPa.
• Pressure-induced insulator-to-metal transition and volume collapse observed.

Conclusions:

• CrSbSe3 is a new addition to the family of chromium-based superconductors.
• Superconductivity in CrSbSe3 is attributed to phonon softening and enhanced p-d hybridization.
• This discovery encourages the search for superconductivity in low-dimensional van der Waals materials.