In their recent Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter paper, E-W Scheidt et al explore the superconducting properties of quasi-two-dimensional superconductor 2H-NbSe₂ and its intercalated variant NbSe₂{CoCp₂}_0.26.

This week’s Image of the week displays an ESEM-micrograph of (a) 2H-NbSe₂ and (b) NbSe₂{CoCp₂}_0.26.

ESEM-micrograph of (a) 2H-NbSe2 and (b) NbSe2{CoCp2}0.26, from E-W Scheidt et al 2015 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 155701

Scheidt and colleagues report that intercalation of 2H-NbSe₂ with cobaltocene (CoCp₂) significantly changes the superconducting properties of the layered dichalcogenide perpendicular to the layers, but hardly affects those within the layers. The authors attribute this to changes in the host lattice layer spacings in the c-direction. To read more about this study, you can view the full paper here.

Image: ESEM-micrograph of (a) 2H-NbSe₂ and (b) NbSe₂{CoCp₂}_0.26 from
E-W Scheidt et al 2015 J. Phys.: Condens. Matter 27 155701. Copyright IOP Publishing 2015

Categories: Journal of Physics: Condensed Matter

Tags: 2D materials, Condensed matter physics, Image of the week, Materials, Superconductors, Transition metal dichalcogenides