Superconductivity near 30 K without copper: The Ba0.6K 0.4BiO3 perovskite

R. J. Cava, B. Batlogg, J. J. Krajewski, R. Farrow, L. W. Rupp, A. E. White, K. Short, W. F. Peck, T. Kometani

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

1106 Scopus citations

Abstract

It is well known that the breakthrough of Bednorz and Müller 1 in discovering superconductivity in (La, Ba)2CuO 4 was inspired in part by their knowledge of the superconducting properties of Ba(Pb, Bi)O3 (ref. 2). With a transition temperature, Tc, of ∼12 K, that compound was not generally considered anomalous despite the fact that its Tcis 3-5 times higher than that of traditional superconductors with comparable density of states3-5. The increases in Tc for copper-oxide-based materials continue to generate worldwide excitement, but from both a chemical and theoretical point of view it would also be exciting if high-Tcsuperconductivity were observed in another class of materials. Here we report the results of experiments leading us to the single-phase perovskite Ba0.6K 0.4BiO3, which has a magnetically determined onset temperature of 29.8 K-a Tc considerably higher than that of conventional superconductors and surpassed only by copper-containing compounds. Superconductivity in this compound occurs within the framework of a three dimensionally connected bismuth-oxygen array. These results suggest that further research toward exploring the limiting Tcs for bismuth-oxide-based, high-temperature superconductors might be fruitful.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)814-816
Number of pages3
JournalNature
Volume332
Issue number6167
DOIs
StatePublished - 1988
Externally publishedYes

All Science Journal Classification (ASJC) codes

  • General

Fingerprint

Dive into the research topics of 'Superconductivity near 30 K without copper: The Ba0.6K 0.4BiO3 perovskite'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

Cite this