Pressure-driven superconductivity and unexpected semiconducting behavior in Li-Pt electrides
Phys. Rev. B 113, 214515 – Published 17 June, 2026
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/d24s-yf7c
Abstract
Lithium-abundant electrides, characterized by the presence of interstitial anionic electrons, have attracted considerable attention owing to their extraordinary properties, including superconductivity. Here, we conduct comprehensive first-principles structure-prediction simulations to investigate the phase stability of lithium-platinum (Li-Pt) compounds under high-pressure conditions. Our calculations identify several hitherto unknown electride phases in the Li-Pt system, namely, , and . Among the metallic phases uncovered, exhibits the highest superconducting critical temperature (), reaching 18 K at 120 GPa. Strikingly, , the phase with the highest lithium content, is unexpectedly predicted to be a semiconductor. We further clarify the fundamental criteria governing interstitial electron localization and establish systematic correlations between superconductivity and key electronic and vibrational descriptors, including the electronic density of states, electron-phonon coupling strength, and phonon softening across all predicted phases. These results substantially broaden the structural diversity of the Li-Pt system and underscore the intriguing coexistence of superconductivity and semiconducting behavior in lithium-based electride materials.