Superconductivity in Nb21S8, a Phase with Metal Cluster Chains

Phase pure samples of Nb21S8 are obtained by chemical transport and molten flux reactions in sealed niobium containers at 850−950 °C. In the temperature range from 5 to 290 K the electrical conductivity is found to be moderate metallic with a specific resistivity of 3.90 mΩ cm at 273 K. Magnetic susceptibility measurements give weak, almost temperature independent paramagnetism above ∼40 K. These metallic properties are compared with the structure of Nb21S8, which contains linear single and double chains of fused body centered niobium cubes, separated by S and additional Nb atoms. Both physical measurements consistently show a transition into the superconducting state below 4.1(5) and 3.7(2…