SYNTHESIS OF A NEW 124 COMPOUND, PRBA2CU4O8

Nearly single-phase polycrystalline samples of PrBa2Cu4O8 have been obtained by heat treatment at 990-degrees-C for 40 h in Ar-20% O2 of 50 atm using an O2-HIP technique. The crystallographic structure of the PrBa2Cu4O8 phase is confirmed to be isomorphous with that of the Y-''124'' phase, i.e. YBa2Cu4O8. This crystal has an orthorhombic unit cell with lattice parameters a = 3.886 angstrom, b = 3.903 angstrom and c = 27.32 angstrom. Non-superconductivity occurs in the sample at temperatures above 4.2 K.