Progress in Superconductivity and Cryogenics (한국초전도ㆍ저온공학회논문지)

The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics (한국초전도저온학회)
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Synthesis and resistivity measurements of LK-99

  • Received : 2023.11.03
  • Accepted : 2023.12.15
  • Published : 2023.12.31
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Abstract

Recently, a claim of material, named LK-99 (a lead apatite-based compound), exhibiting a superconducting transition temperature of over 400 K under standard atmospheric pressure, was reported [1, 2]. This claim has generated considerable attention from scientists worldwide. Here, we synthesized five LK-99 samples following the method detailed in the original papers [1, 2], and measured structural and resistivity data for each of these samples. The structure of the synthesized samples (P63/m, a=9.82 Å , c=7.34 Å ) was very close to the reported one. Contrary to the report, however, no hint of room-temperature superconductivity was noted from any of the samples. The results of Energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDXS) measurements demonstrate that the atomic distribution in the sample was inhomogenous, and unreacted precursors were included in the samples. To investigate the intrinsic superconducting properties of LK-99, we propose to synthesize samples having high structural purity and chemical uniformity.

Keywords

Acknowledgement

This study was supported by the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) grant funded by the Ministry of Science and ICT (2021R1A2C1006198, and 2022H1D3A3A01077468).

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