The role of CALYPSO in the discovery of high-T_c hydrogen-rich superconductors

Hydrogen-rich compounds are promising candidates for high-Tc or even room-temperature superconductors. The search for high-Tc hydrides poses a major experimental challenge because there are many known hydrides and even more unknown hydrides with unusual stoichiometries under high pressure. The combination of crystal structure prediction and first-principles calculations has played an important role in the search for high-Tc hydrides, especially in guiding experimental synthesis. Crystal structure AnaLYsis by Particle Swarm Optimization(CALYPSO) is one of the most efficient methods for predicting stable or metastable structures from the chemical composition alone. This review summarizes the superconducting hydrides predicted using CALYPSO. We focus on two breakthroughs toward room-temperature superconductors initiated by CALYPSO: the prediction of high-Tc superconductivity in compressed hydrogen sulfide and lanthanum hydrides, both of which have been confirmed experimentally and have set new record Tc values. We also address the challenges and outlook in this field.

Metal-Element-Incorporation Induced Superconducting Hydrogen Clathrate Structure at High Pressure

The recent observation of high critical temperature T_(c) in lanthanum and Yttrium hydrides confirms the key role of hydrogen cage(H-cage)in determining high superconductivity.Here,we present a new class of metastable H_(12) clathrate structures based on the icosahedral cI 24-Na that can be stabilized by incorporation of metal elements.Analysis shows that the charge transfer from metal atoms to H atoms contributes to forming the H_(12) clathrate.Nine dynamically stable structures are identified to exhibit superconductivity,and a maximum T_(c) of 28K is found in voids-doped Mo_(6)H_(24).Calculations reveal that the low T_(c) is attributed to the weak interaction between H atoms in each cage due to the long H–H distance.The current results provide a possible route to design H-cage containing superconductors.

Elastic and Dynamical Properties of YB4： First-Principles Study

We present the elastic and dynamical properties of YB4 from first-principles calculations. It is found that the optimized lattice constants and bulk modulus （182 GPa） agree well with the experimental data. The structural stability of tetragonal YB4 is confirmed by the calculated elastic constants and phonon spectra. YB4 holds a Debye temperature of 874 K and has small elastic anisotropy. The estimated hardness of YB4 is about 17 GPa, indicating that YB4 is a hard solid while not a superhard one.

Pressure-induced phase transition in transition metal trifluorides

As a fundamental thermodynamic variable, pressure can alter the bonding patterns and drive phase transitions leading to the creation of new high-pressure phases with exotic properties that are inaccessible at ambient pressure. Using the swarm intelligence structural prediction method, the phase transition of TiF_(3), from R-3c to the Pnma phase, was predicted at high pressure, accompanied by the destruction of TiF_6 octahedra and formation of TiF_8 square antiprismatic units. The Pnma phase of TiF_(3), formed using the laser-heated diamond-anvil-cell technique was confirmed via high-pressure x-ray diffraction experiments. Furthermore, the in situ electrical measurements indicate that the newly found Pnma phase has a semiconducting character, which is also consistent with the electronic band structure calculations. Finally, it was shown that this pressure-induced phase transition is a general phenomenon in ScF_(3), VF_(3), CrF_(3), and MnF_(3), offering valuable insights into the high-pressure phases of transition metal trifluorides.

Prediction of Superhard BN_(2) with High Energy Density

Considering that pressure-induced formation of short,strong covalent bonds in light-element compounds can produce superhard materials,we employ structure searching and first-principles calculations to predict a new class of boron nitrides with a stoichiometry of BN_(2),which are stable relative to alpha-B and alpha-N_(2) at ambient pressure.At ambient pressure,the most stable phase has a layered structure(h-BN_(2)) containing hexagonal BN layers between which there are intercalated N_(2) molecules.At 25 GPa,a three-dimensional P4_(2)/mmc structure with single N-N bonds becomes the most stable.Dynamical,thermal,and mechanical stability calculations reveal that this structure can be recovered under ambient conditions.Its calculated stress-strain relations demonstrate an intrinsic superhard nature with an estimated Vickers hardness of ~43 GPa.This structure has a potentially high energy density of ~4.19 kJ/g.

碱金属单质的奇异高压行为

碱金属元素单质(锂、钠、钾、铷和铯)的原子最外层只有一个近自由的s电子,在常温和常压下碱金属单质具有简单的体心立方结构.在压力的作用下,碱金属原子间距减小,电子轨道重叠程度增加,导致电荷发生重新分布(如,s→p或s→d电荷的转移),引起一系列复杂的结构相变发生(如长程无序非公度结构的形成).伴随结构相变的发生,碱金属单质的电子性质也发生了很大的变化,比如锂和铯出现了超导电性,更令人惊奇的是锂和钠在高压下还发生了有违传统高压理论的金属到绝缘体的转变.文中总结了5种碱金属元素单质锂、钠、钾、铷和铯在高压下的丰富结构相变行为,介绍了各种新型高压相结构,分析了相变产生的物理机制,阐述了锂和铯的高压超导电性,并重点介绍了锂和钠的金属-绝缘体相变.最后我们还展望了碱金属元素单质的未来高压研究的重点.

透明致密单质钠

传统高压理论认为,高压可以有效地缩短金属内部的原子间距,导致价带和导带展宽,进而使其金属性增强.然而,目前实验可达到的压力条件已能够将物质压缩到原子的芯电子发生重叠的状态.这一高压效应会使金属发生复杂的结构相变,使之具有独特的晶体结构和无法用传统理论来描述的电子性质.传统理论曾预言,简单金属锂和钠在高压下会出现原子配对而导致的非金属相,但这一预言没有得到后续理论和实验的支持.本研究将理论模拟和高压实验相结合,发现金属钠在200万大气压下转变为一种新型物质状态——光学透明的宽带隙绝缘态.绝缘态钠具有简单而独特的晶体结构——c轴高度压缩的双六角密堆结构.高压钠的绝缘态不是早期理论预言的原子配对的结果,而是p和d轨道电子杂化,以及芯电子云之间高度交叠的结果.钠原子的价电子受芯电子排斥而高度局域在晶格间隙中,这些在间隙中被"冻结"的价电子完全失去了自由电子的特性,表现出绝缘特性.当压力促使原子的芯电子发生强烈重叠时,这种新型绝缘状态可以在其他元素和化合物中存在.