Supraleitung in Graphit ist kein neues Thema. Dieser Effekt wurde bereits in den 1960er Jahren in Interkalationsverbindungen von Graphit gefunden. Die Supraleitung in reinem Graphit wurde bereits vor etwa 50 Jahren beschrieben. Kürzlich wurden in zweischichtigem Graphen, in dem die Graphenschichten um einen 'magischen' Winkeln um die c Achse verdreht wurden, flache Bänder in der elektronischen Bandstruktur nachgewiesen, welche mit der Entstehung von Supraleitung zusammenhängen. Wir haben die elektrischen Transporteigenschaften in Graphitproben mit unterschiedlichen Elektrodenkonfigurationen untersucht. Wir haben den elektrischen Widerstand von hochgeordnetem natürlichem und synthetischem Graphit mit Elektroden auf der Oberseite der ab Basalebene und auch parallel zur c Achse mit hoher Präzision gemessen und den Einfluss der hochleitenden Stapelfehler untersucht, an denen, eingebettet zwischen den kristallinen Graphitschichten, 2D-Grenzflächen entstehen, die ebenfalls flache Bänder aufweisen. Die Existenz einer gut geordneten rhomboedrischen Graphitphase in allen gemessenen Proben wurde durch Röntgenbeugungsmessungen nachgewiesen. Die Grenzflächen mit der hexagonalen Phase stellen laut theoretischer Vorhersagen einen möglichen Ursprung für die Hochtemperatursupraleitung dar. Die experimentellen Ergebnisse liefern eindeutige Beweise für körnige Supraleitung in diesen Materialien, z. B. einen schrittweisen Temperaturübergang bei ~ 350 K, magnetische Irreversibilität, Zeitabhängigkeit nach einer Feldänderung, die mit dem eingeschlossenen Fluss und Flusskriechen übereinstimmt, und den teilweise abgestoßenen magnetischen Fluss, welcher in Magnetisierungsmessungen beobchtet werden kann. Die Lokalisierung der körnigen Supraleitung an diesen 2D-Grenzflächen verhindert die Beobachtung widerstandsfreier elektrischer Ströme oder eines vollständigen Meißner-Zustands. Der Grund ist, dass die körnige Supraleitung in abgegrenzten Regionen an den Grenzflächen entsteht, welche in eine Multigraphen-Halbleitermatrix eingebettet sind. In dieser Arbeit wird eine detaillierte Untersuchung des Magnetowiderstands in verschiedenen Arten von Graphitproben bei niedrigen und hoch gepulsten Magnetfeldern vorgestellt. / Superconductivity in graphite is not a new topic. Its existence goes back to the 1960s when this effect was found in intercalation compounds of graphite. Superconductivity in pure graphite was reported already around 50 years ago and recently proved in bi-layer graphene, related to 'magic' angles between the graphene layers, twisted around the c axis, with the electronic band structure exhibiting flat bands. We have studied electrical transport properties in graphite samples with different electrode configurations. Measuring with high precision, the electrical resistance of highly ordered natural and synthetic graphite, with electrodes placed on the top of the ab basal plane, and also parallel to the c axis, we investigated the influence of the highly conducting stacking faults, referred as 2D interfaces, embedded between the crystalline regions of graphite, which also exhibit flat bands. The existence of well ordered rhombohedral graphite phase in all measured samples has been proved by x-ray diffraction measurements, suggesting its interfaces with the hexagonal phase as a possible origin of high-temperature superconductivity, predicted by theoretical studies. The results provide clear evidence of granular superconductivity, e.g., a step-like transition in temperature at ~ 350 K, magnetic irreversibility, time dependence after a field change, consistent with trapped flux and flux creep, and the partial magnetic flux expulsion from magnetization measurements. The localization of the granular superconductivity at these 2D interfaces prevents the observation of a zero resistance state or a full Meissner state. The reason is that the superconducting distribution is a mixture of superconducting patches at the interfaces, and they are embedded in a multigraphene semiconducting matrix. A detailed study of the magnetoresistance in different kinds of graphite samples at low and high-pulsed magnetic fields is presented in this work.

The existence of superconductivity in graphite has been under discussion since the 1960s when it was found in intercalated graphitic compounds, such as C8K, C8Rb and C8Cs. However, it was only about 40 years ago when the existence of superconductivity in pure graphite came up. In this work we directly investigate the interfaces highly oriented pyrolytic graphite (HOPG) has in its inner structure, since they play a major role in the electronic properties. The results obtained after studying the electrical transport provide clear evidence on granular superconductivity localized at the interfaces of graphite samples. Zero resistance states, strong current dependence and magnetic field effect on the superconducting phase support this statement. Additionally, an abrupt reduction in the measured voltage at temperatures from 3 to 175 K has been observed. However, the upper value of this transition temperature seems to not have been reached yet. A possible method to enhance it is to increase the carrier density of graphite samples. In order to preserve to quasi-two-dimensional structure of highly oriented pyrolytic graphite, chemical doping has been dismissed in the frame of this work. We used an external electric field to move the Fermi level and, hence, try to trigger superconductivity in multi layer graphene samples. A drop on the resistance at around 17 K has been measured for a large enough electric field applied perpendicular to the graphene planes. This transition is strongly affected by magnetic field and only appeared at low temperatures. As a result of the studies included in this work, it appears clear that graphite has a superconducting phase located at certain interfaces with a very high transition temperature.

Granular superconductivity at high temperatures in graphite can emerge at certain two-dimensional (2D) stacking faults (SFs) between regions with twisted (around the c-axis) or untwisted crystalline regions with Bernal (ABA…) and/or rhombohedral (ABCABCA…) stacking order. One way to observe experimentally such 2D superconductivity is to measure the frozen magnetic flux produced by a permanent current loop that remains after removing an external magnetic field applied normal to the SFs. Magnetic force microscopy was used to localize and characterize such a permanent current path found in one natural graphite sample out of ∼50 measured graphite samples of different origins. The position of the current path drifts with time and roughly follows a logarithmic time dependence similar to the one for flux creep in type II superconductors. We demonstrate that a ≃10 nm deep scratch on the sample surface at the position of the current path causes a change in its location. A further scratch was enough to irreversibly destroy the remanent state of the sample at room temperature. Our studies clarify some of the reasons for the difficulties of finding a trapped flux in a remanent state at room temperature in graphite samples with SFs.