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    Enhanced superconductivity of stoichiometric ternary superhydride YScH8 at high pressure

    Weihao Jia1, Xindeng Lv1, Yu Huang1, Qinghong Gu1, Dawei He1, Kaiping Hu1, Xingbin Zhao1, Zihan Zhang2,*, Yanping Huang1,† et al.

    Tian Cui1,2,‡

    • 1Institute of High Pressure Physics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, China
    • 2State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, China

    • *Contact author: zhangzh21@mails.jlu.edu.cn
    • †Contact author: huangyanping@nbu.edu.cn
    • ‡Contact author: cuitian@nbu.edu.cn

    Phys. Rev. B 113, 144507 – Published 16 April, 2026

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/tjqv-vxrz

    Abstract

    The pursuit of room-temperature superconductivity has generated growing interest in hydrogen-rich materials. However, the limited structural and compositional diversity of traditional binary superhydrides hinders further progress in this field. Ternary hydrides, with their enhanced structural flexibility and synergistic intermetallic interactions, provide a promising route to overcome these limitations. In this study, using YH4 as the parent material, we successfully synthesized two Y-Sc-H ternary hydrides by controlling laser-heating temperature and scandium doping concentration: the substitutionally doped stoichiometric P4/mmm−YScH8 and nonstoichiometric I4/mmm−(Y,Sc)H4. Electrical transport measurements revealed that P4/mmm−YScH8 exhibits a superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of 113 K at 191.7 GPa, representing a 41% enhancement over YH4 (79 K at 179 GPa), with structural stability retained down to at least 160 GPa. In contrast, I4/mmm−(Y,Sc)H4 induces only a slight modification of the Tc of the parent YH4, which is consistent with the Anderson theorem. Electronic structure calculations reveal that the band structure of P4/mmm−YScH8 is substantially reconstructed due to the introduction of Sc 3d orbitals. This shifts the van Hove-like features closer to the Fermi level, increases the density of states at the Fermi level, and consequently enhances the electron-phonon coupling, ultimately leading to an elevated superconducting transition temperature Tc. These findings demonstrate the effectiveness of elemental synergy strategies in designing high-Tc superhydrides.

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