A superconducting praseodymium nickelate with infinite layer structure

A variety of nickel oxide compounds have long been studied for their manifestation of various correlated electron phenomena. Recently, superconductivity was observed in nanoscale infinite layer nickelate thin films of Nd$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$, epitaxially stabilized on SrTiO$_3$ substrates via topotactic reduction from the perovskite precursor phase. Here we present the synthesis and properties of PrNiO$_2$ thin films on SrTiO$_3$. Upon doping in Pr$_{0.8}$Sr$_{0.2}$NiO$_2$, we observe superconductivity with a transition temperature of 7-12 K, and robust critical current density at 2 K of 334 kA/cm$^2$. These findings indicate that superconductivity in the infinite layer nickelates is relatively insensitive to the details of the rare earth 4$f$ configuration. Furthermore, they motivate the exploration of a broader family of compounds based on two-dimensional NiO$_2$ planes, which will enable systematic investigation of the superconducting and normal state properties and their underlying mechanisms.

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