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(Y 1- x Pr x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 compounds with x =0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, 0.4, 0.5, 0.6, and 0.7 were synthesized using a high-pressure oxygen technique. The solubility limit x s in this compound system was found to be 0.7. In this composition range, (Y 1- x Pr x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 compounds have the YBa 2 Cu 4 O 8 (124) structure and the lattice parameters a , b and c increase with increasing Pr content x . The superconducting transition temperature T c decreases monotonically with increasing x , and the critical content x c , where superconductivity disappears, has been estimated to be 0.8. There is an obvious effect of Pr substitution on superconductivity, although the effect is smaller in the 124 system than that in the 123 system. X-ray diffraction results suggest that Pr is almost 3+ in this system. A model for the Pr substitution is suggested to make holes immobile to suppress superconductivity as the result of the hybridization of O 2p π with Pr 4f orbitals.

The polarization dependence of x-ray absorption at the oxygen 1 s absorption edge in untwinned LuBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 and PrBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 single crystal specimens was measured. The hole states of oxygen in the CuO 2 plane in PrBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 locate at higher energy position than those of the oxygen in the CuO 2 in superconducting LuBa 2 Cu 3 O 7 , although the hole states of chain sites remain at the same energy position in both Pr123 and Lu123 samples. Although they are mainly of pσ character rather than of pπ and were attributed as an upper Hubbard band, a possibility was pointed out that a trace of pπ character hole states in the CuO 2 plane exists in Pr123. The formation of Zhang-Rice singlet is suppressed by pπ holes in the CuO 2 plane on account of the strong Coulomb interaction on an oxygen site.

The effect of Pr on the superconductivity in (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 were studied and compared with that in (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7 . Transition temperatures of the (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 compounds decrease with increasing Pr content x, although the rate of decrease is slower than that of (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7 . Thus the Pr has a weaker effect to the superconductivity suppression in (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 than in (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7 . From the analysis of X-ray absorption spectra(XAS) near O K-edge in (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 and in (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 3 O 7 , the effect of Pr substitution on the O 2p electronic state is found to be weaker for (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 , which is parallel to the effect on superconductivity. These results were well explained with the hole localization model based on the hybridization of Pr 4f and O 2p orbitals.

The compounds of (Pr x Y 1−x )Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 (x=0, 0.1 and 0.6) were prepared in the oxygen atmosphere of 33 atm using a electrical furnace, where the materials were annealed at 930°C for 48 h. Magnetic and electrical measurements were performed: Transition temperatures for compounds of x=0, 0.1 and 0.6 were 80 K, 75 K and 44 K, respectively. The critical content X c , at which superconductivity disappears, was estimated to be 0.9. Effective moment and the Pauli paramagnetic component of Pr 0.6 Y 0.4 Ba 2 Cu 4 O 8 were 3.05±0.15 and (1.3±0.2) x 10 -6 cm 3 /g, respectively.