Incorporation of sulfur ions into La_2−xSr_xCuO₄ superconducting cuprate

The superconductivity of La2CuO4-based materials is known to be achievable by doping holes in Cu ions. In this study, the hole content was tuned by mixing anion sites with oxygen and sulfur. The substitution of La1.7Sr0.3CuO4 with sulfur led to the recovery of superconductivity from overdoped regions, a result indicative of decreased hole content. Precise structural analysis revealed that the majority of sulfur is incorporated into impurities in the SrSO4 phase, which decreases the hole content of Cu ions via a decrease in the Sr content; however, the superconductivity cannot be interpreted by this mechanism alone. Supporting evidence for the incorporation of sulfur into the La1.7Sr0.3CuO4Sx phase was obtained by an investigation of the composition dependence of the lattice parameters and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy. Substitution of oxygen with sulfur, which served to decrease the hole content, as a means of recovering superconductivity was shown to act.