Superconducting Properties of a Nanoparticle Assembly of the Organic Conductor (TMTSF)2ClO4

While the study of thin-film and nanoparticle geometries on semiconductor devices, type-I elemental superconductors, and even single-molecular magnet materials have been explored, progress on thin-film and nanoparticle organic superconductors -- in particular charge-transfer organic salts -- has remained elusive. Recent refinements of synthesis conditions have produced nanoparticles of the Bechgaard salt (TMTSF)$_2$ClO$_4$. High resolution TEM studies have determined these nanoparticles are approximately 3-5 nm in size, which form nanoparticle clusters that are on average 34 nm in size$^1$. In order to investigate the properties of these nanoparticles, randomly oriented assemblies were studied in magnetic fields up to 16 T, using a high sensitivity inductive method in a dilution refrigerator, the results of which show that the ground-state properties of the nanoparticle assembly compares favorably with the bulk-single-crystal material$^2$. $^1$ D. de Caro \textit{et al.}, \textit{Eur. J. Inorg. Chem.}, \textbf{2014}, 4010 (2014). $^2$ L. E. Winter \textit{et al.}, \textit{Phys. Rev. B.}, \textbf{91}, 035437 (2015).