Signature of superconducting onset in presence of large magnetoresistance in type-II Dirac semimetal candidate Ir2In8S

Abstract

Since the discovery of type-II Dirac semimetal (DSM) as the potential candidate for topological superconductor, magneto-transport studies on diverse type-II DSMs have been of tremendous research interest. Here we report the structural and magneto-transport properties of type-II DSM candidate Ir2In8S under high pressure. With increasing pressure, this shows dramatic suppression of its characteristic large magneto-resistance, which is however partially regained upon release of pressure. No superconductivity has emerged with increasing pressures up to ∼20 GPa. However, in the pressure-released sample a significant resistivity drop below ∼4 K has been detected. The field dependent resistivity and dc magnetization measurements confirm this as superconducting onset. Ir2In8S thus becomes a unique system exhibiting large MR above the superconducting transition. X-ray diffraction results show that the ambient tetragonal structure (P42/mnm) remains stable up to ∼7 GPa, above which this undergoes a reversible structural transition into an orthorhombic structure (Pnnm). The observed enhanced residual resistivity and concurrent increase in carrier density of the normal metal state of the pressure-cycled sample indicate that the enhanced impurity scattering plays a significant role in the emergence of superconductivity.