Pressure-induced electronic delocalization and superconductivity in
Phys. Rev. B 114, 175107 – Published 4 September, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/8b8c-2wm3
Abstract
Understanding how electronic transport evolves from localized to itinerant regimes in correlated cluster solids remains an important challenge in condensed-matter physics. Here, we investigate the pressure-dependent transport properties of the lacunar spinel , a cluster Mott insulator at ambient conditions. At ambient pressure, the resistivity follows Efros-Shklovskii variable-range hopping, indicating Coulomb gap–controlled carrier localization. A pressure-induced electronic delocalization process begins at low pressures (∼5 GPa), as evidenced by the continuous suppression of room-temperature resistance. Upon further compression, the system undergoes a broad insulator-to-metal-like crossover in low-temperature transport, culminating in a fully metallic-like ground state at ∼17–18 GPa. In contrast, the crystallographic transition from the cubic phase to the monoclinic phase starts at ∼20 GPa and ends near ∼32 GPa, demonstrating that the pressure-induced electronic evolution is completed before the onset of long-range structural symmetry breaking. At higher pressures, superconductivity (with a superconducting coherence length ξ(0) ≈ 80–90 Å) emerges from a pressure-induced metallic-like regime. These results establish as a platform for studying correlation-driven evolution of electronic transport in cluster-based solids.