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    Hydrogen vacancy induced structural instability and superconductivity suppression in high-Tc superconducting calcium hydride at megabar pressures

    Xixi Jia1,*, Haoran Chen2,*, Xiaoqiu Ye3, Jian Lv4,†, Xitian Zhang1, Hui Wang1,‡, and Yansun Yao5

    • *These authors contributed equally to this work.
    • †Contact author: lvjian@calypso.cn
    • ‡Contact author: wh@fysik.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 114, 144512 – Published 24 September, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/ng2f-ldwh

    Abstract

    Body-centered-cubic CaH6 has attracted considerable attention due to its unique hydrogen clathrate structure and high-Tc superconductivity (Tc=215K at 172 GPa). Although hydrogen vacancy in this hydride has been reported experimentally, its effects on structural and superconducting properties remain unclear. By comparing with the experimental equation of state, our path-integral molecular dynamics simulations reveal that pressure reduction induces hydrogen depletion from interstitial sites of the Ca sublattice, resulting in the formation of a nonstoichiometric CaH6−δ phase (δ≤0.45) below 165 GPa. The increase in hydrogen vacancies induces thermoelastic instability below 125 GPa (at 300 K) through shear-modulus softening, while concurrently suppressing superconductivity via electronic-state modulation, with the Tc decreasing at a rate of 2.3K/GPa. Both results align with experimental observations. Moreover, we predict that hydrogen vacancies facilitate hydrogen diffusion in the superconducting CaH6−δ phase between 145 and 160 GPa, with the diffusivity reaching or exceeding 10−8cm2/s. The findings emphasize the key role of hydrogen vacancy in understanding the high-pressure evolution behavior of high-Tc hydrides.

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