Designing Novel Hydride Superconductors

The discovery of high-temperature (high-T_c) superconductivity at 203 K in sulfur hydride at a pressure of 200 GPa has reignited the interest in conventional superconductivity. While this represents a major breakthrough in fundamental research, it remains a pressing challenge to generate high-T_c hydride superconductors at ambient pressure. So far, PdH_x and Th₄H₁₅ stand as rare examples of low-T_c superconducting hydrides at 1 atm. We employ a novel “chemical capacitor” setup that enables control of the doping level to induce metallicity via hole doping in metal hydrides and achieve superconductivity at ambient pressure conditions. This presentation will discuss the novel “chemical capacitor” setup, the systems that have been investigated, and some of our most promising candidates: (BaLiF₃)₂ | LiH | (BaLiF₃)_2­ and RbMgF₃ | LiH | RbMgF₃.