Combining pressure and electrochemistry to synthesize superhydrides

Abstract

Significance Superhydrides are a materials system where near–room-temperature superconductivity has been achieved but only at very high (megabar) pressures. This work proposes an approach that combines pressure and electrochemistry to stabilize superhydrides at moderate pressures. Through a computational study of the palladium–hydrogen system, we construct electrochemical phase diagrams and show that electrochemically synthesizing superhydrides may be possible when combined with moderate pressures. We generalize this to other binary metal superhydrides of interest for superconductivity, including La, Y, and Mg hydrides.

Topics & Concepts