am8b17100_si_001.pdf (2.22 MB)
High-Temperature Superconductivity in a Th–H System under Pressure Conditions
journal contribution
posted on 2018-12-04, 18:48 authored by Alexander G. Kvashnin, Dmitrii V. Semenok, Ivan A. Kruglov, Izabela A. Wrona, Artem R. OganovNew stable phase thorium decahydride Fm3̅m-ThH10, a high-temperature
superconductor with TC up to 241 K (−32
°C), critical field HC up to 71 T,
and superconducting gap Δ0 of 52 meV at 80–100
GPa, is predicted by evolutionary algorithm USPEX. Another phase, P21/c-ThH7, is found
to be a superconductor with TC of 62 K.
Analysis of the superconducting state was performed within Eliashberg
formalism, and HC(T), Δ(T), and TC(P) functions with a jump in the specific heat at
critical temperature were calculated. Several other new thorium hydrides
were predicted to be stable under pressure, including ThH3, Th3H10, ThH4, and ThH6. Thorium (which has s2d2 electronic configuration) forms high-TC polyhydrides similar to those formed by s2d1 metals (Y–La–Ac).
Thorium belongs to the Mg–Ca–Sc–Y–La–Ac
family of elements forming high-TC superconducting
hydrides.