Synthesis of Yttrium Superhydride Superconductor with a Transition Temperature up to 262 K by Catalytic Hydrogenation at High Pressures

Authors

Elliot Snider, University of Rochester
Nathan Dasenbrock-Gammon, University of Rochester
Raymond McBride, University of Rochester
Xiaoyu Wang, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Noah Meyers, University of Rochester
Keith V. Lawler, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Eva Zurek, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York
Ashkan Salamat, University of Nevada, Las VegasFollow
Ranga P. Dias, University of Rochester

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

3-19-2021

Publication Title

Physical Review Letters

Volume

126

Issue

11

First page number:

1

Last page number:

6

Abstract

The recent observation of room-temperature superconductivity will undoubtedly lead to a surge in the discovery of new, dense, hydrogen-rich materials. The rare earth metal superhydrides are predicted to have very high-Tc superconductivity that is tunable with changes in stoichiometry or doping. Here we report the synthesis of an yttrium superhydride that exhibits superconductivity at a critical temperature of 262 K at 182±8 GPa. A palladium thin film assists the synthesis by protecting the sputtered yttrium from oxidation and promoting subsequent hydrogenation. Phonon-mediated superconductivity is established by the observation of zero resistance, an isotope effect and the reduction of Tc under an external magnetic field. The upper critical magnetic field is 103 T at zero temperature.

Disciplines

Physical Chemistry

Language

English

Repository Citation

Snider, E., Dasenbrock-Gammon, N., McBride, R., Wang, X., Meyers, N., Lawler, K., Zurek, E., Salamat, A., Dias, R. (2021). Synthesis of Yttrium Superhydride Superconductor with a Transition Temperature up to 262 K by Catalytic Hydrogenation at High Pressures. Physical Review Letters, 126(11), 1-6.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.126.117003