English

A Metastable CaSH$_3$ Phase Composed of HS Honeycomb Sheets that is Superconducting Under Pressure

Superconductivity 2021-01-01 v1

Abstract

Evolutionary searches predicted a number of ternary phases that could be synthesized at pressures of 100-300~GPa. P63/mmcP6_3/mmc CaSH2_2, PnmaPnma CaSH2_2, Cmc21Cmc2_1 CaSH6_6, and I4ˉI\bar{4} CaSH20_{20} were composed of a Ca-S lattice along with H2_2 molecules coordinated in a ``side-on'' fashion to Ca. The H-H bond lengths in these semiconducting phases were elongated because of H2_2 σ\sigma\rightarrow Ca d donation, and Ca d\rightarrow H2_2 σ\sigma^* back-donation, via a Kubas-like mechanism. P6ˉm2P\bar{6}m2 CaSH3_3, consisting of two-dimensional HS and CaH2_2 sheets, was metastable and metallic above \edit{128~GPa}. The presence of van Hove singularities increased its density of states at the Fermi level, and concomitantly the superconducting critical temperature, which was estimated to be as high as \edit{\sim100~K at 128~GPa}. This work will inspire the search for superconductivity in materials based upon \edit{honeycomb HX (X=S, Se, Te), and MH2_2 (M=Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba) layers} under pressure.

Keywords

Cite

@article{arxiv.2012.14985,
  title  = {A Metastable CaSH$_3$ Phase Composed of HS Honeycomb Sheets that is Superconducting Under Pressure},
  author = {Yan Yan and Tiange Bi and Nisha Geng and Xiaoyu Wang and Eva Zurek},
  journal= {arXiv preprint arXiv:2012.14985},
  year   = {2021}
}