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    Superconductivity in pressure-stabilized hexagonal Na2HeB2 with Na-He co-intercalation and a honeycomb boron network

    Hang Xie1, Yingnan Liu1, Jianjun Zhang1, Xin Zhong2, Hanyu Liu2, and Shoutao Zhang1,*

    • 1State Key Laboratory of Integrated Optoelectronics and Key Laboratory of UV-Emitting Materials and Technology of Ministry of Education, School of Physics, Northeast Normal University, Changchun 130024, China
    • 2Key Laboratory of Material Simulation Methods and Software of Ministry of Education and State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China

    • *Contact author: zhangst966@nenu.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 114, 194515 – Published 27 October, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/pcht-3rhm

    Abstract

    Materials containing unreactive elements are attracting increasing attention for their unexpected characteristics such as pressure-driven superconductivity. However, the known helium-incorporating superconductors (HISCs) are constrained by extreme compression, and thus achieving high-temperature superconductivity in helium-based compounds under moderate pressure is a key challenge. Here, we conducted a comprehensive study of the Na2He-B system, leveraging a first-principles-assisted configuration prediction method, and presented two previously unknown stable phases, encompassing P63/mmc Na2HeB2 and Immm Na2HeB7. In particular, Na2HeB2 manifests a prototype hexagonal layered structure featuring interlayer sodium-helium co-insertion and a honeycomb-shaped covalent boron grid. Remarkably, calculations of electron–phonon coupling (EPC) uncover that, among HISCs, Na2HeB2 holds the highest superconducting transition temperature (Tc) at a low pressure of 20 GPa, reaching 38 K, which is primarily attributed to the coupling between in-plane B 2p electronic states at the Fermi level and Na- and He-governed low-frequency phonon modes. In contrast, the strategy of enhancing the EPC strength through electronic doping (−0.04e/cell) enabled Na2HeB2 to exhibit high-Tc behavior at 42 K. These findings provide important implications for the discovery of additional superconductors composed of inert elements.

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