High Pressure Superconducting Transition in Dihydride <mml:math xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"> <mml:mrow> <mml:msub> <mml:mrow> <mml:mi>BiH</mml:mi> </mml:mrow> <mml:mrow> <mml:mn>2</mml:mn> </mml:mrow> </mml:msub> <
Metal hydrides MH_{x} (x≤2) with low hydrogen content are not expected to show high-T_{c} superconductivity owing to the low hydrogen-derived electronic density of states at Fermi level and the limited hydrogen contribution to electron-phonon coupling strength. In this Letter, we report on the successful synthesis of a novel bismuth dihydride superconductor, Cmcm-BiH_{2}, at approximately 150 GPa, and the discovery of superconductivity with T_{c} about 62 K at 163 GPa, marking the first instance of superconductor among the MH_{2}-type metal dihydrides. Cmcm-BiH_{2} adopts a unique host-guest type structure, in which the Bi atoms via weak Bi-Bi covalent bonds form a three-dimensional open-channel framework that encapsulates H_{2}-like molecules as guests, thereby broadening the structural diversity of hydrides under high pressures. The occurrence of superconductivity is evidenced by a sharp drop of resistivity to zero and the characteristic downward shift of T_{c} under applied magnetic fields. Notably, Cmcm-BiH_{2} remains stable down to at least 97 GPa during decompression, with the calculated lowest pressure for dynamic stability of 10 GPa. In-depth analysis reveals that the covalent bismuth open-channel structure forms metallic conduction channels, dominates the electronic states near the Fermi level, and contributes approximately 51% of the total λ in Cmcm-BiH_{2}, distinguishing it from known high-pressure hydride superconductors. These findings highlight the critical role of nonhydrogen elements in producing superconductivity and open new avenues for the design and optimization of high-T_{c} hydride superconductors.
Authors
- Bosen Wang
- Yang Ding (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8845-4618)
- Haizhong Guo (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6128-4225)
- Huiyang Gou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2612-4314)
- Jinguang Cheng (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4969-1960)
- Jianping Sun (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2873-6023)
- Chuanlong Lin (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7218-816X)
- Liang Ma (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2407-9529)
- Pengtao Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9397-8734)
- Pengfei Shan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5654-6155)
- Mei Li (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1742-2360)
- Ziyi Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5561-3889)
- Jun Hou (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9623-5079)
- Sheng Jiang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2570-6654)
- Xin Yang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9852-6673)
- Lili Zhang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7385-2445)
Institutions
- Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Zhengzhou University (CN)
- Henan Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Shanghai Advanced Research Institute (CN)
- FZU ‒ Institute of Physics of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic (CZ)
- Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research (CN)
- Institute of Physics (CN)
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (CN)
- Shanghai Synchrotron Radiation Facility
Publication Details
- Journal
- Physical Review Letters
- Published
- 2025-11-25
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1103/kjnw-n6ds
- Citations
- 3
- Primary Topic
- Hydrogen Storage and Materials
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 1.55