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  • Letter
  • Open Access

Predicted superconductivity above 100 K in electride Li4Rh under high pressure

Zhiyao Guan1, Tian Cui1,2,*, and Da Li1,†

  • 1State Key Laboratory of High Pressure and Superhard Materials and Key Laboratory of Material Simulation Methods & Software of Ministry of Education, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, People's Republic of China
  • 2School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, People's Republic of China

  • *Contact author: cuitian@nbu.edu.cn
  • †Contact author: dali@jlu.edu.cn
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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L012077 – Published 21 March, 2025

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevResearch.7.L012077

Abstract

Although numerous high-pressure electride (HPE) superconductors have been reported, their superconducting transition temperatures (Tc) are low. No HPE superconductor with a Tc exceeding 100 K has been reported. Herein, we predicted a HPE superconductor, Li4Rh, with a high Tc=108.2 K at 300 GPa, making it the first HPE superconductor with a Tc exceeding 100 K. Li4Rh features strong hybridization between nonnuclear attractors (NNAs) and atoms near the Fermi level and a large, deformed cylindrical Fermi sheet. This Fermi sheet structure induces strong electron-phonon coupling (EPC) and allows a broad range of electrons and phonons with a wide range of q vectors to participate in EPC, resulting in high Tc. Unlike other HPE superconductors, the Tc of Li4Rh does not decrease with decreasing EPC but remains stable because the logarithmic average phonon frequency increases as the EPC strength decreases. This helps maintain Tc with increasing pressure with little fluctuation. The results indicate that HPEs with strong hybridization between NNAs and atoms near the Fermi level and with large and closed Fermi surfaces are more likely to exhibit high Tc, offering deep insights into HPE superconductivity and providing valuable guidance for future research into high-Tc electrides.

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Phys. Rev. Research 7, L012077– Published 21 March, 2025
  • Received 8 October 2024
  • Accepted 3 March 2025
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Published by the American Physical Society under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. Further distribution of this work must maintain attribution to the author(s) and the published article's title, journal citation, and DOI.

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