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Superconductivity in a uranium containing high entropy alloy

High entropy alloys (HEA) are an unusual class of materials where mixtures of elements are stochastically arrayed on a simple crystalline lattice. These systems exhibit remarkable functionality, often along several distinct axes: e.g., the examples [TaNb](1-x)(TiZrHf)(x) are high strength and damage...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Nelson, W. L., Chemey, A. T., Hertz, M., Choi, E., Graf, D. E., Latturner, S., Albrecht-Schmitt, T. E., Wei, K., Baumbach, R. E.
Formato: Online Artículo Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: Nature Publishing Group UK 2020
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7070041/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/32170108
http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-61666-z
Descripción
Sumario:High entropy alloys (HEA) are an unusual class of materials where mixtures of elements are stochastically arrayed on a simple crystalline lattice. These systems exhibit remarkable functionality, often along several distinct axes: e.g., the examples [TaNb](1-x)(TiZrHf)(x) are high strength and damage resistant refractory metals that also exhibit superconductivity with large upper critical fields. Here we report the discovery of an f-electron containing HEA, [TaNb](0.31)(TiUHf)(0.69), which is the first to include an actinide ion. Similar to the Zr-analogue, this material crystallizes in a body-centered cubic lattice with the lattice constant a = 3.41(1) Å and exhibits phonon mediated superconductivity with a transition temperatures T(c) ≈ 3.2 K and upper critical fields H(c2) ≈ 6.4 T. These results expand this class of materials to include actinide elements, shows that superconductivity is robust in this sub-group, and opens the path towards leveraging HEAs as functional waste forms for a variety of radioisotopes.