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Main Authors: Zhao, Wenbo, Sun, Ying, Li, Jiaxiang, Yuan, Peng, Iitaka, Toshiaki, Zhong, Xin, Li, Hefei, Fang, Yue-Wen, Liu, Hanyu, Errea, Ion, Xie, Yu
Format: Preprint
Published: 2025
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Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.12068
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author Zhao, Wenbo
Sun, Ying
Li, Jiaxiang
Yuan, Peng
Iitaka, Toshiaki
Zhong, Xin
Li, Hefei
Fang, Yue-Wen
Liu, Hanyu
Errea, Ion
Xie, Yu
author_facet Zhao, Wenbo
Sun, Ying
Li, Jiaxiang
Yuan, Peng
Iitaka, Toshiaki
Zhong, Xin
Li, Hefei
Fang, Yue-Wen
Liu, Hanyu
Errea, Ion
Xie, Yu
contents Metal-stuffed B$-$C compounds with sodalite clathrate structure have captured increasing attention due to their predicted exceptional superconductivity above liquid nitrogen temperature at ambient pressure. However, by neglecting the quantum lattice anharmonicity, the existing studies may result in an incomplete understanding of such a lightweight system. Here, using state-of-the-art ab initio methods incorporating quantum effects and machine learning potentials, we revisit the properties of a series of $XY$$\text{B}_{6}\text{C}_{6}$ clathrates where $X$ and $Y$ are metals. Our findings show that ionic quantum and anharmonic effects can harden the $E_g$ and $E_u$ vibrational modes, enabling the dynamical stability of 15 materials previously considered unstable in the harmonic approximation, including materials with previously unreported ($XY$)$^{1+}$ state, which is demonstrated here to be crucial to reach high critical temperatures. Further calculations based on the anisotropic Migdal-Eliashberg equation demonstrate that the $T_\text{c}$ values for KRb$\text{B}_{6}\text{C}_{6}$ and Rb$\text{B}_{3}\text{C}_{3}$ among these stabilized compounds are 102 and 115 K at 0 and 15 GPa, respectively, both being higher than $T_\text{c}$ of 92 K of KPb$\text{B}_{6}\text{C}_{6}$ at the anharmonic level. These record-high $T_\text{c}$ values, surpassing liquid nitrogen temperatures, emphasize the importance of anharmonic effects in stabilizing B-C clathrates with large electron-phonon coupling strength and advancing the search for high-$T_\text{c}$ superconductivity at (near) ambient pressure.
format Preprint
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institution arXiv
publishDate 2025
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle The Impact of Ionic Anharmonicity on Superconductivity in Metal-Stuffed B-C Clathrates
Zhao, Wenbo
Sun, Ying
Li, Jiaxiang
Yuan, Peng
Iitaka, Toshiaki
Zhong, Xin
Li, Hefei
Fang, Yue-Wen
Liu, Hanyu
Errea, Ion
Xie, Yu
Superconductivity
Metal-stuffed B$-$C compounds with sodalite clathrate structure have captured increasing attention due to their predicted exceptional superconductivity above liquid nitrogen temperature at ambient pressure. However, by neglecting the quantum lattice anharmonicity, the existing studies may result in an incomplete understanding of such a lightweight system. Here, using state-of-the-art ab initio methods incorporating quantum effects and machine learning potentials, we revisit the properties of a series of $XY$$\text{B}_{6}\text{C}_{6}$ clathrates where $X$ and $Y$ are metals. Our findings show that ionic quantum and anharmonic effects can harden the $E_g$ and $E_u$ vibrational modes, enabling the dynamical stability of 15 materials previously considered unstable in the harmonic approximation, including materials with previously unreported ($XY$)$^{1+}$ state, which is demonstrated here to be crucial to reach high critical temperatures. Further calculations based on the anisotropic Migdal-Eliashberg equation demonstrate that the $T_\text{c}$ values for KRb$\text{B}_{6}\text{C}_{6}$ and Rb$\text{B}_{3}\text{C}_{3}$ among these stabilized compounds are 102 and 115 K at 0 and 15 GPa, respectively, both being higher than $T_\text{c}$ of 92 K of KPb$\text{B}_{6}\text{C}_{6}$ at the anharmonic level. These record-high $T_\text{c}$ values, surpassing liquid nitrogen temperatures, emphasize the importance of anharmonic effects in stabilizing B-C clathrates with large electron-phonon coupling strength and advancing the search for high-$T_\text{c}$ superconductivity at (near) ambient pressure.
title The Impact of Ionic Anharmonicity on Superconductivity in Metal-Stuffed B-C Clathrates
topic Superconductivity
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2501.12068