Evidence of superconductivity in doped graphite and graphene

Abstract

We have observed evidence of superconductivity at temperatures in the vicinity of 260 K in phosphorus-doped graphite and graphene. This evidence includes transport current, magnetic susceptibility, Hall effect and (pancake) vortex state measurements. All of these measurements indicate a transition which is that of a type II superconductor with no type I phase until below the limits of our measurement capabilities. Vortex states are inferred from periodically repeated steps in the resistance versus temperature characteristics of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite and exfoliated doped multilayer graphene. Magnetic susceptibility measurements have shown results qualitatively similar to those expected (and experimentally observed by others) for ultra-thin (thickness ≪λL) films. The magnetization is negative for field-cooled and zero-field-cooled measurements. The magnetization for field cooled and zero-field-cooled measurements begin to diverge at approximately 260 K. Hall effect measurements show a sign reversal in the Hall voltage as the temperature is reduced from 300 K to 78 K.