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Superconductivity in graphite intercalation compounds

Accepted version
Peer-reviewed

Type

Article

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Authors

Smith, RP 
Weller, TE 
Howard, CA 
Dean, MPM 
Rahnejat, KC 

Abstract

The field of superconductivity in the class of materials known as graphite intercalation compounds has a history dating back to the 1960s. This paper recontextualizes the field in light of the discovery of superconductivity in CaC6 and YbC6 in 2005. In what follows, we outline the crystal structure and electronic structure of these and related compounds. We go on to experiments addressing the superconducting energy gap, lattice dynamics, pressure dependence, and how this relates to theoretical studies. The bulk of the evidence strongly supports a BCS superconducting state. However, important questions remain regarding which electronic states and phonon modes are most important for superconductivity and whether current theoretical techniques can fully describe the dependence of the superconducting transition temperature on pressure and chemical composition.

Description

Keywords

Intercalation, Superconductivity, Graphite, Low-dimension

Journal Title

Physica C: Superconductivity and its Applications

Conference Name

Journal ISSN

0921-4534
1873-2143

Volume Title

Publisher

Elsevier BV