Superconductive MgB₂ Intercalated Muscovite with Dynamically Tunable Stress

In this study, we utilized a stress-sensitive superconductor MgB₂ in combination with a flexible muscovite, a layered silicate, to demonstrate that materials in a reduced-dimension environment could be influenced by external strain. MgB₂ nanocrystals were inserted into the muscovite interlayers using gas phase intercalation, creating a two-dimensional cavity-like structure. Several experiments confirmed that the cavity-induced static pressure from the intercalation effect and the external dynamic bending effect can affect the physical properties of MgB₂. The results of analyzing the changes in superconducting critical temperature (<i>T</i> _c) indicate that the dynamic bending effect corresponds to an applied pressure of approximately 1.2 GPa. This method demonstrates that muscovite intercalation serves as a versatile platform for evaluating the stress effects on functional materials in reduced dimensions under ambient conditions.