Superhard and superconducting boron clathrates in the prediction of U-B compounds
Phys. Rev. Materials 9, 123601 – Published 1 December, 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/jskf-cfcg
Abstract
The binary metal borides provide a promising platform for searching for unique materials with superconductivity and superhardness under high pressure, owing to the distinctive bonding characteristics of boron. In this work, we combined the first-principles calculations and crystal structure predictions, and we predicted four exotic stoichiometries and eight unique U-B compounds under high pressure. The predicted compounds have layered or caged structure units, and four of them host high hardness under ambient pressure. By removal of the U atoms, we predicted three metastable boron clathrates at ambient pressure. Remarkably, the Vickers hardness of the predicted is estimated to be 49–53 GPa, and the is superconducting with the value of 16.12 K. Our calculations enrich the phase diagram of binary metal borides and boron allotropes, providing insights for the future theoretical and experimental studies on unique materials.