Ruthenocuprats: Playground for superconductivity and magnetism

We have compared the structural, electrical, and magnetic properties of Ru(Gd1.5-xPrx)Ce0.5Sr2Cu2O10-δ (Pr/Gd samples) with x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.033, 0.035, 0.04, 0.05, 0.06, 0.1 and RuGd1.5(Ce0.5-xPrx)Sr2Cu2O10-δ (Pr/Ce samples) with x = 0.0, 0.01, 0.03, 0.05, 0.08, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2 prepared by the standard solid-state reaction technique with RuGd1.5(GdxCe0.5-x) Sr2Cu2O10-δ (Gd/Ce samples) with x= 0.0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3. We obtained the XRD patterns for different samples with various x. The lattice parameters versus x for different substitutions have been obtained from the Rietveld analysis. To determine how the magnetic and superconducting properties of these layered cuprate systems can be affected by Pr substitution, the resistivity and magnetoresistivity, with Hext varying from 0.0 to 15 kOe, have been measured at various temperatures. Superconducting transition temperature Tc and magnetic transition Tirr have been obtained through resistivity and ac susceptibility measurements. The Tc suppression due to Gd/Ce, Pr/Gd and Pr/Ce substitutions show competition between pair breaking by magnetic impurity, hole doping due to different ionic valences, difference in ionic radii, and oxygen stoichiometry. Pr/Gd substitution suppresses superconductivity more rapidly than for Pr/Ce or Gd/Ce, showing that the effect of hole doping and pair breaking by magnetic impurity is stronger than the difference in ionic radii. In Pr/Gd substitution, the small difference between the ionic radii of Pr and Gd, and absorption of more oxygen due to higher valence of Pr with respect to Gd, decrease the mean Ru-Ru distance, and as a result, the magnetic exchange interaction becomes stronger with the increase of x. But, Pr/Ce and Gd/Ce substitutions have a reverse effect. The magnetic properties such as Hc, obtained through magnetization measurements versus applied magnetic field isoterm at 77K and room temperatures, become stronger with x in Pr/Gd and weaker with x in Pr/Ce and Gd/Ce substitutions.