Absence of Superconductivity in LiCu2P2

We successfully synthesized the copper-based pnictide LiCu2P2, which was reported as a superconductor with T-c = 3.7 K before. The temperature dependence of resistivity and DC magnetization was measured on both polycrystalline and single-crystalline LiCu2P2. However, our repeatable synthesizing and measurements showed no superconducting transition either in resistivity or DC magnetization above 2 K A metallic behavior can be seen in resistivity, and a Curie Weiss behavior was observed in DC magnetization from 2 to 300 K We have also carried out the Hall effect and MR measurements on the sample, from which we conclude that the LiCu2P2 has a single-band character. We also synthesized the polycrystalline Li (1-x-) Cu2P2, LiCu2-xP2, and Li1+xCu2-xP2 with different stoichiometries and observed no superconductivity in all the samples.