Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • Article
  • Published:

Pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron-based ladder material BaFe2S3

Nature Materials volume 14, pages 1008–1012 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

All the iron-based superconductors identified so far share a square lattice composed of Fe atoms as a common feature, despite having different crystal structures. In copper-based materials, the superconducting phase emerges not only in square-lattice structures but also in ladder structures. Yet iron-based superconductors without a square-lattice motif have not been found, despite being actively sought out. Here, we report the discovery of pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron-based spin-ladder material BaFe2S3, a Mott insulator with striped-type magnetic ordering below ∼120 K. On the application of pressure this compound exhibits a metal–insulator transition at about 11 GPa, followed by the appearance of superconductivity below Tc = 14 K, right after the onset of the metallic phase. Our findings indicate that iron-based ladder compounds represent promising material platforms, in particular for studying the fundamentals of iron-based superconductivity.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Schematic view of the crystallographic and magnetic structures of BaFe2S3.
Figure 2: Electronic properties of BaFe2S3 at ambient pressure.
Figure 3: Electrical resistance and a.c. susceptibility of BaFe2S3 under high pressure.
Figure 4: Pressure dependence of the lattice constants and the superconducting transition temperature.

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kamihara, Y. et al. Iron-based layered superconductor La[O1−xFx]FeAs (x = 0.05–0.12) with Tc = 26 K. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 130, 3296–3297 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Mazin, I. I., Singh, D. J., Johannes, M. D. & Du, M. H. Unconventional supeconductivity with a sign reversal in the order parameter of LaFeAsO1−xFx . Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 05700 (2008).

    Google Scholar 

  3. Kuroki, K. et al. Unconventional pairing originating from the disconnected Fermi surfaces of superconducting LaFeAsO1−xFx . Phys. Rev. Lett. 101, 087004 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Onari, S., Yamakawa, Y. & Kontani, H. High-Tc superconductivity near the anion height instability in Fe-based superconductors: Analysis of LaFeAsO1−xHx . Phys. Rev. Lett. 112, 187001 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Dai, P., Hu, J. & Dagotto, E. Magnetism and its microscopic origin in iron-based high-temperature superconductors. Nature Phys. 8, 709–718 (2012).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Guo, J. et al. Superconductivity in the iron selenide KxFe2Se2 (0 ≤ x ≤ 1.0). Phys. Rev. B 82, 180520 (2010).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Ye, F. et al. Common crystalline and magnetic structure of superconducting A2Fe4Se5 (A = K, Rb, Cs, Tl) single crystals measured using neutron diffraction. Phys. Rev. Lett. 107, 137003 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Dagotto, E. Colloquium: The unexpected properties of alkali metal iron selenide superconductors. Rev. Mod. Phys. 85, 849–867 (2013).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Saparov, B. et al. Spin glass and semiconducting behavior in one-dimensional BaFe2−δSe3 (δ ≈ 0.2) crystals. Phys. Rev. B 84, 245132 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Lei, H. et al. Anisotropy in BaFe2Se3 single crystals with double chains of FeSe tetrahedral. Phys. Rev. B 84, 214511 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Krzton-Maziopa, A. et al. The synthesis, and crystal and magnetic structure of the iron selenide BaFe2Se3 with possible superconductivity at Tc = 11 K. J. Phys. Condens. Matter 23, 402201 (2011).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Caron, J. et al. Iron displacements and magnetoelastic coupling in the antiferromagnetic spin-ladder compound BaFe2Se3 . Phys. Rev. B 84, 180409 (2011).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  13. Caron, J. et al. Orbital-selective magnetism in the spin-ladder iron selenides Ba1−xKxFe2Se3 . Phys. Rev. B 85, 180405 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Nambu, Y. et al. Block magnetism coupled with local distortion in the iron-based spin-ladder compound BaFe2Se3 . Phys. Rev. B 85, 064413 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Monney, C. et al. Resonant inelastic x-ray scattering at the Fe L3 edge of the one-dimensional chalcogenide BaFe2Se3 . Phys. Rev. B 88, 165103 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  16. Du, F. et al. Stripelike magnetism in a mixed-valence insulating state of the Fe-based ladder compound CsFe2Se3 . Phys. Rev. B 85, 214436 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  17. Takahashi, H. et al. Superconductivity at 43 K in an iron-based layered compound LaO1−xFxFeAs. Nature 453, 376–378 (2008).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  18. Hong, H. Y. & Steinfin, H. Crystal chemistry of phases in Ba–Fe–S and Se systems. J. Solid State Chem. 5, 93–104 (1972).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. Gonen, Z. S. et al. Magnetic and transport properties of Ba6Fe8S15 and BaFe2S3: Magnetoresistance in a spin-glass-like Fe(II) system. Chem. Mater. 12, 3331–3336 (2000).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  20. Rotter, M. et al. Spin-density-wave anomaly at 140 K in the ternary iron arsenide BaFe2As2 . Phys. Rev. B 78, 020503 (2008).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Medvedev, M. V., Nekrasov, I. A. & Sadovskii, M. V. Electronic and magnetic structure of a possible iron based superconductor BaFe2Se3 . JETP Lett. 95, 37–41 (2012).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  22. Luo, Q. et al. Magnetic states of the two-leg-ladder alkali metal iron selenides AFe2Se3 . Phys. Rev. B 87, 024404 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  23. Lv, W., Moreo, A. & Dagotto, E. B 1 g -like pairing states in two-leg ladder iron superconductors. Phys. Rev. B 88, 094508 (2013).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  24. Luo, Q. & Dagotto, E. Magnetic phase diagram of a five-orbital Hubbard model in the real-space Hartree–Fock approximation varying the electronic density. Phys. Rev. B 89, 045115 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  25. Luo, Q. et al. Magnetic states of the five-orbital Hubbard model for one-dimensional iron-based superconductors. Phys. Rev. B 90, 035128 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Uehara, M. et al. Superconductivity in the ladder material Sr0.4Ca13.6Cu24O41.84 . J. Phys. Soc. Jpn 65, 2764–2767 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  27. Dagotto, E. & Rice, T. M. Surprises on the way from one- to two-dimensional quantum magnets: The ladder materials. Science 271, 618–623 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  28. Uehara, M. et al. in Frontiers in Magnetic Materials (ed Narlikar, A. V.) (Springer, 2005).

    Google Scholar 

  29. Hisada, A. et al. Superconductivity on a crossover phenomenon of spin-ladder system SrCa13Cu24O41 single crystals. J. Phys. Soc. Jpn 83, 073703 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This work was partly supported by JSPS Grants-in-Aid for Scientific Research (A) (23244068), for Scientific Research (B) (23340097, 24340088 and 26287073) and for Young Scientists (B) (26800175), the Strategic Research Base Development Program for Private Universities (2009, S0901022) of MEXT and the Grant Program of the Yamada Science Foundation. The synchrotron radiation X-ray experiments were performed at BL-18C of KEK-PF under the approval of Proposal No. 2014G587.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. College of Humanities & Sciences, Nihon University, Sakurajosui, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo 156-8550, Japan

    Hiroki Takahashi, Akira Sugimoto, Takateru Kawakami, Chizuru Kawashima & Hideto Soeda

  2. Institute of Multidisciplinary Research for Advanced Materials, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan

    Yusuke Nambu & Taku J. Sato

  3. Institute for Materials Research, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8577, Japan

    Yusuke Nambu

  4. Institute for Solid State Physics (ISSP), University of Tokyo, Kashiwa, Chiba 277-8581, Japan

    Touru Yamauchi, Yasuyuki Hirata, Kazuyuki Matsubayashi, Fei Du, Yoshiya Uwatoko, Yutaka Ueda & Kenya Ohgushi

  5. Bragg Institute, Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation, Locked Bag 2001 Kirrawee DC, New South Wales 2232, Australia,

    Maxim Avdeev

  6. School of Chemistry, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales 2006, Australia

    Maxim Avdeev

  7. Key laboratory of Physics and Technology for Advanced Batteries (Ministry of Education), College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China

    Fei Du

  8. Ultra-High Pressure Processes Group, National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-0044, Japan

    Satoshi Nakano

  9. Toyota Physical and Chemical Research Institute, Nagakute, Aichi 480-1192, Japan

    Yutaka Ueda

  10. Department of Physics, Tohoku University, Sendai, Miyagi 980-8578, Japan

    Kenya Ohgushi

Authors
  1. Hiroki Takahashi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Akira Sugimoto
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Yusuke Nambu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Touru Yamauchi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Yasuyuki Hirata
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Takateru Kawakami
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Maxim Avdeev
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Kazuyuki Matsubayashi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Fei Du
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Chizuru Kawashima
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Hideto Soeda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Satoshi Nakano
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Yoshiya Uwatoko
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  14. Yutaka Ueda
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  15. Taku J. Sato
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  16. Kenya Ohgushi
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

H.T., Y.N. and K.O. designed the research; Y.H., F.D., Y.Ueda and K.O. synthesized the samples and performed the resistivity, magnetic-susceptibility and specific-heat measurements; M.A., Y.N. and T.J.S. performed the neutron-diffraction measurements and analysed the data; T.K. performed the Mössbauer measurements; A.S., C.K., H.S. and H.T. performed the resistivity measurements under high pressure at zero magnetic field; A.S., C.K., H.T., K.M. and Y.Uwatoko performed the resistivity measurements under high pressure at finite magnetic fields; T.Y. performed the resistivity and magnetic-susceptibility measurements under high pressure using the cubic anvil press; and C.K., S.N. and H.T. performed the X-ray diffraction measurements under high pressure. All the authors discussed the results. H.T., Y.N., T.K. and K.O. wrote the paper and all the authors read and commented on the manuscript.

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Hiroki Takahashi or Kenya Ohgushi.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The authors declare no competing financial interests.

Supplementary information

Supplementary Information

Supplementary Information (PDF 1322 kb)

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Takahashi, H., Sugimoto, A., Nambu, Y. et al. Pressure-induced superconductivity in the iron-based ladder material BaFe2S3. Nature Mater 14, 1008–1012 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4351

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nmat4351

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing