A superconducting praseodymium nickel oxide with infinite-layer structure*

Nickel oxide compounds, which are analogous to copper oxides, have been intensively investigated in the past decades since the discovery of high-T_c superconductivity in copper oxides.¹ The recent discovery of superconductivity in a neodymium nickel oxide of infinite-layer structure suggests the possible existence of a family of superconducting nickel oxide.² Here, we present the synthesis of an infinite-layer praseodymium nickel oxide by topochemical reduction of the precursor perovskite thin films using calcium hydride as reagent. We report the observation of superconductivity with T_c of 9-12 K in such compound upon doping with strontium, Pr_0.8Sr_0.2NiO₂. Details of the materials synthesis of the infinite-layer structure, measurements on temperature-dependence of resistivity and Hall coefficient will be discussed in this presentation.

[1] J. G. Bednorz, and K. A. Muller, Z Phys. B 64, 189-194 (1986).
[2] D. Li, K. Lee, B. Y. Wang, M. Osada, S. Crossley, H. R. Lee, Y. Cui, Y. Hikita, and H. Y. Hwang, Nature 572, 624-627 (2019).