Jilin University makes significant breakthroughs in hydrogen-based superconductivity research

Recently, a research team led by Professor Zhong Xin from the School of Physics at Jilin University has made a key breakthrough in the field of high-pressure structure prediction and experimental research on ternary hydrides, La–B–H. The related research results have been published online in the international authoritative journal Journal of the American Chemical Society, opening up a brand-new path for practical research into hydrogen-based high-temperature superconducting materials. High-pressure hydrogen-based superconductors, thanks to their excellent physical performance, have become a core global hotspot in superconductivity research. From the successive discoveries of materials such as H3S to LaH10, research on high-temperature superconductivity continues to push the boundaries forward. However, these materials must exist stably only under extremely high pressures, which severely hinders the realization of practical applications. Therefore, developing new high-temperature superconducting hydrides under relatively lower pressures has become a pressing frontier issue that the field urgently needs to tackle, and introducing a third lightweight element into binary hydrides is widely regarded as a key direction to break through this challenge.

Targeting the La–B–H system, whose potential energy surface is complex and whose study is exceptionally difficult, the team innovatively adopted a coordinated strategy of “high-pressure experimental characterization + machine-learning–accelerated crystal structure prediction,” achieving a major breakthrough. In the experiments, under a pressure range of 145–158 GPa, the team successfully synthesized a thermodynamically stable P21/m-LaB2H7 phase. Synchrotron X-ray diffraction data and theoretical simulation results completely matched, and electrical transport measurements determined that this phase is a semiconductor. In theoretical research, within the 100–200 GPa range, the team successfully predicted six previously unknown stable compounds. Among them, LaBH7 and LaBH8 superconducting critical temperatures (Tc) exceed 100 K, showing excellent potential for high-temperature superconductivity. (Jilin Release)