Screening the organic materials database for superconducting metal-organic frameworks

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Condensed Matter Physics
• Green Chemistry

Background:

• Rising costs and environmental impact of inorganic materials drive demand for sustainable alternatives.
• Organic compounds often have complex structures hindering rapid property screening.
• Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) offer a potential class of 'green' functional materials.

Purpose of the Study:

• To overcome the challenge of screening complex organic materials for functional properties.
• To identify potential superconducting candidates within the metal-organic-frameworks organic materials database.
• To investigate the electron-phonon coupling in MOFs as a proxy for superconductivity.

Main Methods:

• Utilized a recently proposed proxy for electron-phonon coupling for high-throughput screening.
• Screened a database of metal-organic-frameworks for superconducting properties.
• Isolated and performed in-depth analysis on the most promising candidate material.

Main Results:

• Identified several potential superconducting candidates among MOFs.
• The material C9H8Mn2O11 emerged as the most promising candidate.
• Experimental evidence indicates superconductivity in C9H8Mn2O11 below 100 millikelvin (mK).

Conclusions:

• Metal-organic frameworks are viable candidates for discovering novel superconducting materials.
• The developed screening proxy effectively identifies potential superconductors in complex organic structures.
• C9H8Mn2O11 represents a significant finding in the search for green superconductors.