A Novel Large Moment Antiferromagnetic Order in K0.8Fe1.6Se2 Superconductor

The discovery of cuprate high TC superconductors has inspired the search for unconventional superconductors in magnetic materials. A successful recipe has been to suppress long-range order in a magnetic parent compound by doping or high pressure to drive the material towards a quantum critical point. We report an exception to this rule in the recently discovered potassium iron selenide. The superconducting composition is identified as the iron vacancy ordered K0.83(2)Fe1.64(1)Se2 with TC above 30 K. A novel large moment 3.31 μB/Fe antiferromagnetic order that conforms to the tetragonal crystal symmetry has an unprecedentedly high ordering temperature TN ≈ 559 K for a bulk superconductor. Staggeringly polarized electronic density of states is thus suspected, which would stimulate further investigation into superconductivity in a strong spin-exchange field under new circumstances. (condensed matter: structure, mechanical and thermal properties)