Superconducting Li10Se electride under pressure | JoVE Visualize

Area of Science:

Materials Science
Condensed Matter Physics
Solid-State Chemistry

Background:

Achieving materials with coexisting states like electrides, metallicity, and superconductivity is a significant research goal.
High pressure is known to induce superconductivity in hydrides, but most electrides remain semiconducting or insulating under such conditions.
Discovering new superconducting materials, especially electrides, at accessible pressures is crucial for both fundamental understanding and technological applications.

Purpose of the Study:

To identify novel compounds exhibiting multiple coexisting electronic states, specifically electride and superconducting properties.
To investigate the potential of pressure as a tuning parameter for superconductivity in novel electride structures.
To explore lithium-based chalcogenides for high-pressure superconducting applications.

Main Methods:

Employed swarm-intelligence structural search algorithms to predict new material structures.
Utilized high-pressure theoretical calculations to determine the electronic and vibrational properties of candidate materials.
Analyzed the relationship between electronic structure, phonon modes, and superconducting transition temperature (T<0xE2><0x82><0x9C>).

Main Results:

Identified a novel C2/m lithium selenide (Li₁₀Se) electride structure.
Predicted that Li₁₀Se becomes superconducting at high pressures, with an estimated maximum T<0xE2><0x82><0x9C> of 16 K at 50 GPa.
This T<0xE2><0x82><0x9C> is the lowest pressure observed among Li-based chalcogen electrides, driven by Se-related low-frequency phonon modes and pressure-induced electronic changes.

Conclusions:

The newly discovered Li₁₀Se electride demonstrates a pathway to achieving superconductivity in Li-based chalcogenides at relatively lower pressures.
The findings highlight the crucial role of specific vibrational modes and electronic orbital occupations in enhancing superconducting properties under pressure.
This research provides a valuable reference for designing and discovering other superconducting electrides with potentially higher T<0xE2><0x82><0x9C> values.