Woodruff Daniel N, Schild Francesca, Topping Craig V, Cassidy Simon J, Blandy Jack N, Blundell Stephen J, Thompson Amber L, Clarke Simon J
Department of Chemistry, University of Oxford , Inorganic Chemistry Laboratory, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3QR, UK.
Department of Physics, University of Oxford , Clarendon Laboratory, Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PU, UK.
Inorg Chem. 2016 Oct 3;55(19):9886-9891. doi: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.6b01734. Epub 2016 Sep 22.
Lithiation of hydrothermally synthesized LiFe(OH)FeSe turns on high-temperature superconductivity when iron ions are displaced from the hydroxide layers by reductive lithiation to fill the vacancies in the iron selenide layers. Further lithiation results in reductive iron extrusion from the hydroxide layers, which turns off superconductivity again as the stoichiometric composition Li(OH)FeSe is approached. The results demonstrate the twin requirements of stoichiometric FeSe layers and reduction of Fe below the +2 oxidation state as found in several iron selenide superconductors.