Retainable Superconductivity and Structural Transition in 1T-TaSe2 Under High Pressure

Inorg Chem. 2021 Aug 2;60(15):11385-11393. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.1c01378. Epub 2021 Jul 21.

Abstract

As a prominent platform possessing the properties of superconductivity (SC) and charge density wave (CDW), transition-metal dichalcogenides (TMDCs) have attracted considerable attention for a long time. Moreover, extensive efforts have been devoted for exploring the SC and/or the interplay between SC and CDW in TMDCs in the past few decades. Here, we systematically investigate the electronic properties and structural evolution of 1T-TaSe2 under pressure. With increasing pressure, pressure-induced superconductivity is observed at ∼2.6 GPa. The superconductive transition temperature (Tc) increases with the suppression of the CDW state to the maximum value of ∼5.1 K at 21.8 GPa and then decreases monotonously up to the highest pressure of 57.8 GPa. 1T-TaSe2 transforms into a monoclinic C2/m structure above 19 GPa. The monoclinic phase coexists with the original phase as the pressure is released under ambient conditions and the retainable superconductivity with Tc = 2.9 K is observed in the released sample. We suggest that the retained superconductivity can be ascribed to the retention of the superconductive high-pressure monoclinic phase in the released sample. Our findings demonstrate that both the structure and CDW order are related to the superconductivity of TaSe2.