Electronic transport properties of NbC(C)-C nanocomposites

We report the electronic transport properties of a composite system comprising zero dimensional superconducting NbC(C) nanocapsules and carbon nanofiber matrix. DC susceptibility measurements of the nanocomposite indicate that the critical temperature (T-C) of NbC nanocrystals is 10.7 K. The temperature dependence of electrical resistivity of the specimen pellet follows the Mott's T-1/4 law in a temperature range between T-C of NbC and 300 K, owing to a strong degree of structural disorder in the carbon matrix. Below the T-C of NbC, when the change of its electrostatic energy Delta E is far greater than the thermal energy, an electron will be localized on an isolated NbC nanocrystal at very low temperatures, leading to "Coulomb Blockade." As a result, a collective behavior of the single-electron tunneling effect takes place in a three-dimensional granular superconductors' network composed of the NbC/carbon/NbC tunneling junctions. The superconducting gap of NbC crystals is not found in the current-voltage curves, due to the suppression of surface superconductivity through the contact between NbC and carbon shells.