Growth and characterizations of Ba₂Ti₂Fe₂As₄O single crystals

Single crystals of a new iron-based superconductor Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O have been grown successfully via a Ba2As3-flux method in a sealed evacuated quartz tube. Bulk superconductivity with Tc ∼ 21.5 K was demonstrated in resistivity and magnetic susceptibility measurements after the as-grown crystals were annealed at 500 °C in vacuum for a week. X-ray diffraction patterns confirm that the annealed and the as-grown crystals possess the identical crystallographic structure of Ba2Ti2Fe2As4O. Energy-dispersive x-ray spectra indicate that partial Ti/Fe substitution exists in the [Fe2As2] layers and the annealing process redistributes the Ti within the Fe-plane. The ordered Fe-plane stabilized by annealing exhibits superconductivity with magnetic vortex pinned by Ti.