Novel As/Se-free Iron-based Superconductors – IRONMAN

The ultimate goal of IRONMAN is to advance and exploit the potential of a novel family of Fe-based materials for high-temperature superconductivity. This investigation urges and is highly motivated by our recent discovery of superconductivity in the novel silicide LaFeSiH, which represents a major breakthrough in the field. This is the first member of a new class of materials with which we have surpassed traditional pnictide and chalcogenide compounds and promoted, for the first time, original Fe-based silicides to unconventional high-temperature superconductors (thus accomplishing an eagerly desired goal of the entire community). IRONMAN is an ambitious project that gathers a team of expert researchers from Institut NEEL, ICMCB and CRISMAT, with additional input from external partners. The unrivalled strength of the consortium comes from the synergetic gathering of i) an original approach to the synthesis of new Fe-based materials ii) the combination of complementary experimental techniques, including advanced diffraction developments, for the comprehensive study of their physical properties and iii) a strong theoretical support using state-of-the-art DFT methods. The project is adequately divided into four different work packages with well-defined objectives that will supply an entirely new series of Fe-based materials, their structural, magnetic and transport properties, as well as the theoretical framework to rationalize their superconducting properties. This will define a radically new playground to understand the rich physics of the Fe-based superconductors, with novel application-friendly materials that may be considered for future applications. IRONMAN thus offers a unique opportunity to give renewed impetus to the French exploratory chemistry and lead the research on the next generation of inexpensive and non-toxic Fe-based superconductors.