Superconductivity in pressure-stabilized hexagonal with Na-He co-intercalation and a honeycomb boron network
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 -B system, leveraging a first-principles-assisted configuration prediction method, and presented two previously unknown stable phases, encompassing and Immm . In particular, 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, holds the highest superconducting transition temperature () at a low pressure of 20 GPa, reaching 38 K, which is primarily attributed to the coupling between in-plane B 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 (/cell) enabled to exhibit high- behavior at 42 K. These findings provide important implications for the discovery of additional superconductors composed of inert elements.