Pressure Induced Clathrate Hydrogen-Rich Superconductors KH<sub>20</sub> and KH<sub>30</sub>
Wendi Zhao, Hao Song, Zhao Liu, Mingyang Du, Zihan Zhang, Zhengtao Liu, Qiwen Jiang, Ling Chen, Defang Duan, Tian Cui
Abstract
Hydrogen-rich compounds have long been considered as one of the hotspot materials for achieving room-temperature superconductivity. We systematically investigate the high-pressure phase diagram of the K–H system and identified two unreported clathrate extreme superhydrides KH20 and KH30, hosting high superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) of 283 and 243 K at 500 GPa, respectively. The extremely high hydrogen content significantly increases H-derived electronic density of states at the Fermi level, constituting the main contributor to participate in electron–phonon coupling thus producing high-Tc. The large electron localizations in the interstitial region of the metal lattice under high pressure effectively assist the dissociation of hydrogen molecular units, forming unique H36 cages. These results offer key insights into the stability and potential high-Tc superconductivity of compressed extreme superhydrides and will further stimulate related research.