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Advances in Superconductor Materials: Preparation and Characterization

A Special Issue of Materials (ISSN 1996-1944) belonging to the section "Quantum Materials".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (20 February 2026) | Viewed by 2734

Editor


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Guest Editor
Beijing National Laboratory for Condensed Matter Physics, and Institute of Physics, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100190, China
Interests: Cr- and Mn-based superconductors; quantum materials; single crystal
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Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

This Special Issue is dedicated to cutting-edge research and exploration in superconducting materials, with a particular focus on the discovery and development of novel superconductors—including high-temperature superconductors, *p*-wave superconductors, and other emerging systems. During 2013–2015, the Guest Editor's research team made ground-breaking discoveries in superconductivity, including the first Cr-based superconductor CrAs and the first Mn-based superconductor MnP. These findings pioneered the study of Cr/Mn-based superconducting systems. The team has since identified four to five additional classes of superconductors. In 2023, they resolved the scientific debate regarding LK-99's purported room-temperature superconductivity by demonstrating that the observed phenomena resulted from a first-order structural phase transition in Cu₂S impurities.

Given the rapid advancements in this field, we invite researchers to contribute original research articles, as well as reviews, to this Special Issue, with the aim of highlighting recent progress in superconducting materials and other closely related functional materials. Topics of interest include (but are not limited to) the following:

  • Discovery of new superconductors (e.g., high-T<sub>c</sub>, unconventional, and topological superconductors);
  • Advanced synthesis and preparation techniques (single crystals, thin films, wires, etc.);
  • Microstructural and electronic characterization (STM, ARPES, XRD, TEM, etc.);
  • Mechanistic studies and theoretical modeling;
  • Applications in energy, electronics, and quantum technologies.

We welcome submissions that push the boundaries of superconductivity research, offering new insights into materials design, fundamental mechanisms, and practical applications.

Dr. Wei Wu
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-anonymized peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Materials is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • superconductors
  • single crystal
  • thermal conductivity

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 4932 KB  
Article
Enhanced Electron–Phonon Coupling of Superconductivity in Indium-Doped Topological Crystalline Insulator SnTe
by Kwan-Young Lee, Gareoung Kim, Jae Hyun Yun, Jin Hee Kim and Jong-Soo Rhyee
Materials 2026, 19(1), 73; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma19010073 - 24 Dec 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1031
Abstract
Indium-doped SnTe (Sn1−xInxTe) provides a model platform for exploring the emergence of superconductivity within a topological crystalline insulator. Here, we present a systematic investigation of the structural, transport, and thermodynamic properties of high-quality single crystals with 0.0 ≤ x [...] Read more.
Indium-doped SnTe (Sn1−xInxTe) provides a model platform for exploring the emergence of superconductivity within a topological crystalline insulator. Here, we present a systematic investigation of the structural, transport, and thermodynamic properties of high-quality single crystals with 0.0 ≤ x ≤ 0.5. All compositions up to x = 0.4 form a single-phase cubic structure, enabling a controlled study of the superconducting state. Electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements reveal a bulk, fully gapped s-wave superconducting phase whose transition temperature increases monotonically with In concentration, reaching Tc ≈ 4.7 K at x = 0.5. Analysis of the electronic specific heat and McMillan formalism shows that the electron–phonon coupling constant λel-ph systematically increases with doping, while the Debye temperature systematically decreases, resulting in the lattice softening. This behavior, together with the observed evolution of the normal-state resistivity exponent from Fermi-liquid (n ≈ 2.04) toward non-Fermi-liquid values (n ≈ 1.72), demonstrates a clear crossover from weak to strong interaction with increasing In content. These results establish Sn1−xInxTe as a tunable superconducting system in which coupling strength can be continuously controlled, offering a promising platform for future studies on the interplay between phonon-mediated superconductivity and crystalline topological band structure. Full article
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10 pages, 1102 KB  
Article
Dirac Point in the Charge Compensated Single-Crystal Ru3Sn7
by Xiaoyu Ji, Xuebo Zhou, Shilin Zhu, Fengcai Ma, Gang Li and Wei Wu
Materials 2025, 18(17), 4044; https://doi.org/10.3390/ma18174044 - 29 Aug 2025
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1104
Abstract
Ru3Sn7 crystallizes in the cubic Ir3Ge7-type structure (space group Im3m), a class of intermetallic compounds. Previous studies focused primarily on its crystal structure, band calculations, and basic transport properties. Here, we report a systematic investigation [...] Read more.
Ru3Sn7 crystallizes in the cubic Ir3Ge7-type structure (space group Im3m), a class of intermetallic compounds. Previous studies focused primarily on its crystal structure, band calculations, and basic transport properties. Here, we report a systematic investigation of high-quality single crystals via electrical resistivity, Hall effect, specific heat, and thermal transport measurements. The T3X7 intermetallic family—with its diverse electronic ground states—provides an ideal platform for exploring such topology–property relationships. Ru3Sn7 exhibits metallic behavior, with consistent Hall effect and Seebeck coefficient data indicating a compensated electron-hole two-band system. Temperature-dependent modulation of electronic states near the Fermi surface alters charge carrier transport, which may imply the presence of a Lifshitz transition in Ru3Sn7. More importantly, magnetic quantum oscillations are observed for the first time, confirming the presence of two Dirac points in its band structure. Full article
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