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Dasenbrock-Gammon N, Snider E, McBride R, Pasan H, Durkee D, Khalvashi-Sutter N, Munasinghe S, Dissanayake SE, Lawler KV, Salamat A, Dias RP. Evidence of near-ambient superconductivity in a N-doped lutetium hydride. Nature 2023; 615:244-250. [PMID: 36890373 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-023-05742-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 27.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 01/18/2023] [Indexed: 03/10/2023]
Abstract
The absence of electrical resistance exhibited by superconducting materials would have enormous potential for applications if it existed at ambient temperature and pressure conditions. Despite decades of intense research efforts, such a state has yet to be realized1,2. At ambient pressures, cuprates are the material class exhibiting superconductivity to the highest critical superconducting transition temperatures (Tc), up to about 133 K (refs. 3-5). Over the past decade, high-pressure 'chemical precompression'6,7 of hydrogen-dominant alloys has led the search for high-temperature superconductivity, with demonstrated Tc approaching the freezing point of water in binary hydrides at megabar pressures8-13. Ternary hydrogen-rich compounds, such as carbonaceous sulfur hydride, offer an even larger chemical space to potentially improve the properties of superconducting hydrides14-21. Here we report evidence of superconductivity on a nitrogen-doped lutetium hydride with a maximum Tc of 294 K at 10 kbar, that is, superconductivity at room temperature and near-ambient pressures. The compound was synthesized under high-pressure high-temperature conditions and then-after full recoverability-its material and superconducting properties were examined along compression pathways. These include temperature-dependent resistance with and without an applied magnetic field, the magnetization (M) versus magnetic field (H) curve, a.c. and d.c. magnetic susceptibility, as well as heat-capacity measurements. X-ray diffraction (XRD), energy-dispersive X-ray (EDX) and theoretical simulations provide some insight into the stoichiometry of the synthesized material. Nevertheless, further experiments and simulations are needed to determine the exact stoichiometry of hydrogen and nitrogen, and their respective atomistic positions, in a greater effort to further understand the superconducting state of the material.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Elliot Snider
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Raymond McBride
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Hiranya Pasan
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Dylan Durkee
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Nugzari Khalvashi-Sutter
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Sasanka Munasinghe
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | - Sachith E Dissanayake
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA
| | | | | | - Ranga P Dias
- Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
- Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA.
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Jaroń T, Ying J, Tkacz M, Grzelak A, Prakapenka VB, Struzhkin VV, Grochala W. Synthesis, Structure, and Electric Conductivity of Higher Hydrides of Ytterbium at High Pressure. Inorg Chem 2022; 61:8694-8702. [PMID: 35642313 PMCID: PMC9490838 DOI: 10.1021/acs.inorgchem.2c00405] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
While most of the rare-earth metals readily form trihydrides, due to increased stability of the filled 4f electronic shell for Yb(II), only YbH2.67, formally corresponding to YbII(YbIIIH4)2 (or Yb3H8), remains the highest hydride of ytterbium. Utilizing the diamond anvil cell methodology and synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction, we have attempted to push this limit further via hydrogenation of metallic Yb and Yb3H8. Compression of the latter has also been investigated in a neutral pressure-transmitting medium (PTM). While the in situ heating of Yb facilitates the formation of YbH2+x hydrides, we have not observed clear qualitative differences between the systems compressed in H2 and He or Ne PTM. In all of these cases, a sequence of phase transitions occurred within ca. 13-18 GPa (P3̅1m-I4/m phase) and around 27 GPa (to the I4/mmm phase). The molecular volume of the systems compressed in H2 PTM is ca. 1.5% larger than of those compressed in inert gases, suggesting a small hydrogen uptake. Nevertheless, hydrogenation toward YbH3 is incomplete, and polyhydrides do not form up to the highest pressure studied here (ca. 75 GPa). As pointed out by electronic transport measurements, the mixed-valence Yb3H8 retains its semiconducting character up to >50 GPa, although the very low remnant activation energy of conduction (<5 meV) suggests that metallization under further compression should be achievable. Finally, we provide a theoretical description of a hypothetical stoichiometric YbH3.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tomasz Jaroń
- Centre
of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
- Geophysical
Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20015, United States
- Faculty
of Chemistry, University of Warsaw, Pasteura 1, 02-089 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Jianjun Ying
- Geophysical
Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20015, United States
- HPCAT,
Geophysical Laboratory, Carnegie Institution
of Washington, Argonne, Illinois 60439, United
States
| | - Marek Tkacz
- Institute
for Physical Chemistry, Polish Academy of Science, 01-224 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Adam Grzelak
- Centre
of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
| | - Vitali B. Prakapenka
- Consortium
for Advanced Radiation Sources, The University
of Chicago, Chicago, Illinois 60637, United
States
| | - Viktor V. Struzhkin
- Geophysical
Laboratory, Carnegie Institution of Washington, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, District of Columbia 20015, United States
- Center
for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research, Shanghai 201203, China
| | - Wojciech Grochala
- Centre
of New Technologies, University of Warsaw, Banacha 2c, 02-097 Warsaw, Poland
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