Superconductivity in La2Ni2In

We report here the properties of single crystals of ${\mathrm{La}}₂{\mathrm{Ni}}₂\mathrm{In}$. Electrical resistivity and specific heat measurements concur with the results of density functional theory calculations, finding that ${\mathrm{La}}₂{\mathrm{Ni}}₂\mathrm{In}$ is a weakly correlated metal, where the Ni magnetism is almost completely quenched, leaving only a weak Stoner enhancement of the density of states. Superconductivity is observed at temperatures below 0.9 K. A detailed analysis of the field and temperature dependencies of the resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and specific heat at the lowest temperatures reveals that ${\mathrm{La}}₂{\mathrm{Ni}}₂\mathrm{In}$ is a dirty type-II superconductor with likely $s$-wave gap symmetry. Nanoclusters of ferromagnetic inclusions significantly affect the subgap states resulting in a nonexponential temperature dependence of the specific heat $C(T)$ at $T\ensuremath{\ll}{T}_c$.