Bulk Synthesis of Superconducting Polycrystalline ZrN

In recent years, the superconducting properties of compounds containing lighter elements have proven to be a promising area of research. For example, highly pressurized hydride superconductors were predicted and experimentally shown to have extremely high superconducting phase transition temperatures [1] [2]. This motivates investigations of other light element superconductors: e.g., those containing nitrogen. Here we report results for the synthesis of bulk polycrystalline zirconium nitride. This was done by reacting zirconium under a nitrogen atmosphere using an electrical arc furnace. This is followed by crushing and annealing of the resulting specimen under a nitrogen atmosphere for two weeks. Powder X-Ray diffraction measurements confirm that the crystalline structure matches that of ZrN. Temperature dependent electrical transport measurements reveal metallic behavior for high temperatures with a superconducting transition at T_c = 10.4 K, as reported previously for thin films [3]. The development of synthesis methods for bulk nitrides allows for the ongoing studies of alloying with the goal of enhancing superconducting properties.