Synthesis and Characterization of the Superconductor $Mo_3Sb_7$

We synthesized a polycrystalline sample of the superconductor $Mo_3Sb_7$ and characterized its basic properties by measurements of magnetization, electrical resistivity and specific heat. The measurements establish a superconducting phase transition at $T_c$=2.25 (0.05) K. In applied magnetic fields, the magnetization and resistivity show the behavior of type-II superconductor. From the specific heat measurement, the electronic specific heat coefficient,γ, specific heat jump at $T_c,$ $ΔC(T_c)//γT_c,$ and the Debye temperature $Θ_D$, are evaluated to be 34.5 mJ/(mol $K^2$), 1.56 and 283 K, respectively. From analysis of the specific heat data we suggest that this compound belongs to an intermediate strong coupling regime in the BCS context. The observed enhancement in theγ-value suggests a substantial contribution of Mo-4d-electrons to the density of states. Our experimental data do not support interpretation of superconductivity in $Mo_3Sb_7$ in terms of neither unconventional superconductivity or spin fluctuations proposed previously