No Arabic abstract
Evolutionary algorithms (EA) coupled with Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations have been used to predict the most stable hydrides of phosphorous (PHn, n = 1-6) at 100, 150 and 200 GPa. At these pressures phosphine is unstable with respect to decomposition into the elemental phases, as well as PH2 and H2. Three metallic PH2 phases were found to be dynamically stable and superconducting between 100-200 GPa. One of these contains five formula units in the primitive cell and has C2/m symmetry (5FU-C2/m). It is comprised of 1D periodic PH3-PH-PH2-PH-PH3 oligomers. Two structurally related phases consisting of phosphorous atoms that are octahedrally coordinated by four phosphorous atoms in the equatorial positions and two hydrogen atoms in the axial positions (I4/mmm and 2FU-C2/m) were the most stable phases between ~160-200 GPa. Their superconducting critical temperatures (Tc) were computed as being 70 and 76 K, respectively, via the Allen-Dynes modified McMillan formula and using a value of 0.1 for the Coulomb pseudopotential, u*. Our results suggest that the superconductivity recently observed by Drozdov, Eremets and Troyan when phosphine was subject to pressures of 207 GPa in a diamond anvil cell may result from these, and other, decomposition products of phosphine.
As the simplest iron-based superconductor, FeSe forms a tetragonal structure with transition temperature Tc ~ 8 K. With assistance of pressure, or other techniques, Tc can be greatly enhanced, even to above liquid nitrogen temperature. The newly discovered superconducting tetragonal FeS (Tc ~ 4.5 K), a sulfide counterpart of FeSe, promotes us on its high pressure investigation. The transport and structure evolution of FeS with pressure have been studied. A rapid suppression of Tc and vanishing of superconductivity at 4.0 GPa are observed, followed by a second superconducting dome with a 30% enhancement in maximum Tc. An onsite tetragonal to hexagonal phase transition occurs around 7.0 GPa, followed by a broad pressure range of phase coexistence. The residual deformed tetragonal phase is considered as the source of second superconducting dome. The observation of two superconducting domes in iron-based superconductors poses great challenges for understanding their pairing mechanism.
Noble metals adopt close-packed structures at ambient pressure and rarely undergo structural transformation at high pressures. Platinum (Pt), in particular, is normally considered to be unreactive and is therefore not expected to form hydrides under pressure. We predict that platinum hydride (PtH) has a lower enthalpy than its constituents solid Pt and molecular hydrogen at pressures above 21.5 GPa. We have calculated structural phase transitions from tetragonal to hexagonal close-packed or face-centered cubic (fcc) PtH between 70 and 80 GPa. Linear response calculations indicate that PtH is a superconductor at these pressures with a critical temperature of about 10--25 K. These findings help to shed light on recent observations of pressure-induced metallization and superconductivity in hydrogen-rich materials. We show that formation of fcc metal hydrides under pressure is common among noble metal hydrides and examine the possibility of superconductivity in these materials.
The nematic electronic state and its associated nematic critical fluctuations have emerged as potential candidates for superconducting pairing in various unconventional superconductors. However, in most materials their coexistence with other magnetically-ordered phases poses significant challenges in establishing their importance. Here, by combining chemical and hydrostatic physical pressure in FeSe$_{0.89}$S$_{0.11}$, we provide a unique access to a clean nematic quantum phase transition in the absence of a long-range magnetic order. We find that in the proximity of the nematic phase transition, there is an unusual non-Fermi liquid behavior in resistivity at high temperatures that evolves into a Fermi liquid behaviour at the lowest temperatures. From quantum oscillations in high magnetic fields, we trace the evolution of the Fermi surface and electronic correlations as a function of applied pressure. We detect experimentally a Lifshitz transition that separates two distinct superconducting regions: one emerging from the nematic electronic phase with a small Fermi surface and strong electronic correlations and the other one with a large Fermi surface and weak correlations that promotes nesting and stabilization of a magnetically-ordered phase at high pressures. The lack of mass divergence suggests that the nematic critical fluctuations are quenched by the strong coupling to the lattice. This establishes that superconductivity is not enhanced at the nematic quantum phase transition in the absence of magnetic order.
Investigating the pressure dependence of the superconducting (SC) transition temperature $T_{rm c}$ is crucial for understanding the SC mechanism. Herein, we report on the pressure dependence of $T_{rm c}$ in the nonmagnetic topological line-nodal material CaSb$_2$, based on measurements of electric resistance and alternating current magnetic susceptibility. $T_{rm c}$ initially increases with increasing pressure and peaks at $sim$ 3.1~GPa. With a further increase in pressure, $T_{rm c}$ decreases and finally becomes undetectable at 5.9~GPa. Because no signs of phase transition or Lifshitz transition are observed in the normal state, the peculiar peak structure of $T_{rm c}$ suggests that CaSb$_2$ has an unconventional SC character.
Two-dimensional layered and atomically thin elemental superconductors may be key ingredients in next-generation quantum technologies, if they can be stabilized and integrated into heterostructured devices under ambient conditions. However, atomically thin elemental superconductors are largely unexplored outside ultra-high vacuum due to rapid oxidation, and even 2D layered superconductors require complex encapsulation strategies to maintain material quality. Here we demonstrate environmentally stable, single-crystal, few-atom-thick superconducting gallium, 2D-Ga, produced by confinement heteroepitaxy (CHet) at the interface of epitaxial graphene (EG) and silicon carbide (SiC). 2D-Ga becomes superconducting at 4 K; this elevation over bulk alpha-Ga (Tc~1 K) is primarily attributed to an increased density of states at the Fermi level as the incipient Ga-Ga dimerization seen in alpha-Ga is suppressed by epitaxy to SiC. We also demonstrate the importance of controlling SiC surface morphology (i.e. step height) and defect-engineering in graphene layers prior to intercalation to achieve large-area uniform 2D-Ga layers with isotropic transport properties. This work demonstrates that unique 2D forms of 3D materials can be stabilized at the EG/SiC interface, which represents a scalable route towards air-stable crystalline 2D superconductors as a potential foundation for next-generation quantum technologies.