Prediction of Above-Room-Temperature Superconductivity in Lanthanide/Actinide Extreme Superhydrides.

Achieving room-temperature superconductivity has been an enduring scientific pursuit driven by broad fundamental interest and enticing potential applications. The recent discovery of high-pressure clathrate superhydride LaH10 with superconducting critical temperatures (Tc) of 250-260 K made it tantalizingly close to realizing this long-sought goal. Here, we report a remarkable finding based on an advanced crystal structure search method of a new class of extremely hydrogen-rich clathrate superhydride MH18 (M: rare-earth/actinide atom) stoichiometric compounds stabilized at an experimentally accessible pressure of 350 GPa. These compounds are predicted to host Tc up to 330 K, which is well above room temperature. The bonding and electronic properties of these MH18 clathrate superhydrides closely resemble those of atomic metallic hydrogen, giving rise to the highest Tc hitherto found in a thermodynamically stable hydride compound. An in-depth study of these extreme superhydrides offers insights for elucidating phonon-mediated superconductivity above room temperature in hydrogen-rich and other low-Z materials.

Structural dynamics of basaltic melt at mantle conditions with implications for magma oceans and superplumes.

Transport properties like diffusivity and viscosity of melts dictated the evolution of the Earth's early magma oceans. We report the structure, density, diffusivity, electrical conductivity and viscosity of a model basaltic (Ca11Mg7Al8Si22O74) melt from first-principles molecular dynamics calculations at temperatures of 2200 K (0 to 82 GPa) and 3000 K (40-70 GPa). A key finding is that, although the density and coordination numbers around Si and Al increase with pressure, the Si-O and Al-O bonds become more ionic and weaker. The temporal atomic interactions at high pressure are fluxional and fragile, making the atoms more mobile and reversing the trend in transport properties at pressures near 50 GPa. The reversed melt viscosity under lower mantle conditions allows new constraints on the timescales of the early Earth's magma oceans and also provides the first tantalizing explanation for the horizontal deflections of superplumes at ~1000 km below the Earth's surface.

Electronic structure of dense solid oxygen from insulator to metal investigated with X-ray Raman scattering.

Electronic structures of dense solid oxygen have been investigated up to 140 GPa with oxygen K-edge X-ray Raman scattering spectroscopy with the help of ab initio calculations based on density functional theory with semilocal metageneralized gradient approximation and nonlocal van der Waals density functionals. The present study demonstrates that the transition energies (Pi*, Sigma*, and the continuum) increase with compression, and the slopes of the pressure dependences then change at 94 GPa. The change in the slopes indicates that the electronic structure changes at the metallic transition. The change in the Pi* and Sigma* bands implies metallic characteristics of dense solid oxygen not only in the crystal a-b plane but also parallel to the c axis. The pressure evolution of the spectra also changes at ∼40 GPa. The experimental results are qualitatively reproduced in the calculations, indicating that dense solid oxygen transforms from insulator to metal via the semimetallic transition.

First-principles calculations of the epsilon phase of solid oxygen.

The crystal, electronic and magnetic structures of solid oxygen in the epsilon phase have been investigated using the strongly constrained appropriately normed (SCAN) + rVV10 method and the generalized gradient approximation (GGA) + vdW-D + U method. The spin-polarized SCAN + rVV10 method with an 8-atom primitive unit cell provides lattice parameters consistent with the experimental results over the entire pressure range, including the epsilon-zeta structural phase transition at high pressure, but does not provide accurate values of the intermolecular distances d1 and d2 at low pressure. The agreement between the intermolecular distances and the experimental values is greatly improved when a 16-atom conventional unit cell is used. Therefore, the SCAN + rVV10 method with a 16-atom unit cell can be considered the most suitable model for the epsilon phase of solid oxygen. The spin-polarized SCAN + rVV10 model predicts a magnetic phase at low pressure. Since the lattice parameters of the predicted magnetic structure are consistent with the experimental lattice parameters measured at room temperature, our results may suggest that the epsilon phase is magnetic even at room temperature. The GGA + vdW-D + U (with an ad hoc value of Ueff = 2 eV at low pressure instead of the first-principles value of Ulreff ~ 9 eV) and hybrid functional methods provide similar results to the SCAN + rVV10 method; however, they do not provide reasonable values for the intermolecular distances.

Diffusion Monte Carlo Study of Para-Diiodobenzene Polymorphism Revisited.

We revisit our investigation of the diffusion Monte Carlo (DMC) simulation of para-diiodobenzene (p-DIB) molecular crystal polymorphism. [See J. Phys. Chem. Lett. 2010, 1, 1789-1794.] We perform, for the first time, a rigorous study of finite-size effects and choice of nodal surface on the prediction of polymorph stability in molecular crystals using fixed-node DMC. Our calculations are the largest that are currently feasible using the resources of the K-computer and provide insights into the formidable challenge of predicting such properties from first principles. In particular, we show that finite-size effects can influence the trial nodal surface of a small (1 × 1 × 1) simulation cell considerably. Therefore, we repeated our DMC simulations with a 1 × 3 × 3 simulation cell, which is the largest such calculation to date. We used a density functional theory (DFT) nodal surface generated with the PBE functional, and we accumulated statistical samples with ∼6.4 × 10(5) core hours for each polymorph. Our final results predict a polymorph stability that is consistent with experiment, but they also indicate that the results in our previous paper were somewhat fortuitous. We analyze the finite-size errors using model periodic Coulomb (MPC) interactions and kinetic energy corrections, according to the CCMH scheme of Chiesa, Ceperley, Martin, and Holzmann. We investigate the dependence of the finite-size errors on different aspect ratios of the simulation cell (k-mesh convergence) in order to understand how to choose an appropriate ratio for the DMC calculations. Even in the most expensive simulations currently possible, we show that the finite size errors in the DMC total energies are much larger than the energy difference between the two polymorphs, although error cancellation means that the polymorph prediction is accurate. Finally, we found that the T-move scheme is essential for these massive DMC simulations in order to circumvent population explosions and large time-step biases.

Hydrogen segregation and its roles in structural stability and metallization: silane under pressure.

We present results from first-principles calculations on silane (SiH4) under pressure. We find that a three dimensional P-3 structure becomes the most stable phase above 241 GPa. A prominent structural feature, which separates the P-3 structure from previously observed/predicted SiH4 structures, is that a fraction of hydrogen leaves the Si-H bonding environment and forms segregated H2 units. The H2 units are sparsely populated in the system and intercalated with a polymeric Si-H framework. Calculations of enthalpy of formation suggest that the P-3 structure is against the decomposition into Si-H binaries and/or the elemental crystals. Structural stability of the P-3 structure is attributed to the electron-deficient multicenter Si-H-Si interactions when neighboring silicon atoms are linked together through a common hydrogen atom. Within the multicenter bonds, electrons are delocalized and this leads to a metallic state, possibly also a superconducting state, for SiH4. An interesting outcome of the present study is that the enthalpy sum of SiH4 (P-3 structure) and Si (fcc structure) appears to be lower than the enthalpy of disilane (Si2H6) between 200 and 300 GPa (for all previously predicted crystalline forms of Si2H6), which calls for a revisit of the stability of Si2H6 under high pressure.

Pressure-induced dissociation of water molecules in ice VII.

The neutron diffraction pattern of D2O ice was recently measured at pressures up to 52 GPa by Guthrie et al., who proposed an octahedral interstitial model for ice at pressures above 13 GPa to account for the deviation of the observed crystal structure from that of ice VII. In this article, the octahedral interstitial model was re-examined in terms of the interstitial occupancy and X-ray Raman spectroscopy (XRS) spectra. The interstitial occupancy calculated using first-principles molecular dynamics simulations was negligibly small compared to that of the interstitial model. The oxygen K-edge spectra calculated for the interstitial model exhibited two additional low-energy peaks originating from water molecules and hydroxides that are interacting with interstitial protons, respectively, whereas these low-energy peaks were not observed in the experimentally measured spectra. These results suggest that the interstitial model cannot explain the XRS spectra of ice VII at pressures above 13 GPa and that more precise structure measurements and analyses are necessary to reveal the nature of the pressure-induced transition.

Structural morphologies of high-pressure polymorphs of strontium hydrides.

It is now known that the structure and properties of a material can be significantly altered under extreme compression. In this work, a structural search was performed to investigate the phase stabilities and structures of SrH2n (n = 1-5) in the pressure range of 50-300 GPa. The high-pressure polymorphs reveal a variety of hydrogen structural units ranging from monatomic hydride to linear and bent H3 and spiral polymer chains. A novel graphene like H-layer structure was found to exist in SrH10 at 300 GPa. The structural diversity in the predicted high pressure structures provides an opportunity for an in-depth analysis of the chemical bonding in the high pressure polyhydrides. It is shown from theoretical calculations that the electronegativity of molecular hydrogen is similar to that of group 13 and 14 elements. This resulted in electrons being transferred from Sr to the hydrogen molecules. Thus, a consideration of the number of valence electrons available from Sr that can be shared among the H2 serves as a useful guide to rationalize the structures of the H-moieties. An alternative description of the high pressure structures differing from a previous study is presented here.

Stabilization of H3+ in the high pressure crystalline structure of H n Cl (n = 2-7).

The particle-swarm optimization method has been used to predict the stable high pressure structures up to 300 GPa of hydrogen-rich group 17 chlorine (H n Cl, n = 2-7) compounds. In comparison to the group 1 and 2 hydrides, the structural modification associated with increasing pressure and hydrogen concentration is much less dramatic. The polymeric HCl chains already present in the low temperature phase under ambient pressure persist in all the high pressure structures. No transfer of electrons from the chlorine atoms into the interstitial sites is found. This indicates the chemical bonding at high pressure in group 17 elements is fundamentally different from the alkali and alkaline elements. It is found that almost perfectly triangular H3+ ions can be stabilized in the crystalline structure of H5Cl.

Electrical conductivity of ice VII.

It was discovered that a peak appears near a pressure of Pc = 10 GPa in the electrical conductivity of ice VII as measured through impedance spectroscopy in a diamond anvil cell (DAC) during the process of compression from 2 GPa to 40 GPa at room temperature. The activation energy for the conductivity measured in the cooling/heating process between 278 K and 303 K reached a minimum near Pc. Theoretical modelling and molecular dynamics simulations suggest that the origin of this unique peak is the transition of the major charge carriers from the rotational defects to the ionic defects.

Metallization and superconductivity of BeH2 under high pressure.

Pressure-induced metallization and potential superconductivity of BeH2 has been a topic of interest. In the present study, we extensively explored the crystal structures of BeH2 in a wide pressure range of 0-300 GPa using an unbiased structure searching method coupled with first-principles density functional calculations. A series of pressure-induced structural transformations are predicted for BeH2, as Ibam (α phase) → P-3m1 (phase II) → R-3m (phase III) → Cmcm (phase IV). Calculated pressures of phase transition are 25, 140, and 202 GPa, respectively. The phase II is isostructural to the well-known 1T structure of transition metal dichalcogenides, which is composed of covalent bonded BeH2 slabs stacked along the perpendicular direction by van der Waals forces. The phase III is constructed by the same BeH2 slabs, but differs from the phase II in the stacking sequence. The α phase, phase II, and phase III all have insulating electronic states while their band gaps decrease as pressure increases. We predicted that BeH2 reaches a metallic state by a III → IV phase transition, instead of a direct band gap closure in phase III. The phase IV has a three-dimensional extended Be-H network formed by edge-sharing BeH8 polyhedrons with delocalized electrons. Electron-phonon coupling calculations implemented using linear response theory on the metallic BeH2 predict a large electron-phonon coupling parameter of 0.63, leading to an estimation of superconducting transition temperature (Tc) of ∼38 K at 250 GPa.

First principles molecular dynamics study of filled ice hydrogen hydrate.

We investigated structural changes, phase diagram, and vibrational properties of hydrogen hydrate in filled-ice phase C(2) by using first principles molecular dynamics simulation. It was found that the experimentally reported "cubic" structure is unstable at low temperature and/or high pressure: The "cubic" structure reflects the symmetry at high (room) temperature where the hydrogen bond network is disordered and the hydrogen molecules are orientationally disordered due to thermal rotation. In this sense, the "cubic" symmetry would definitely be lowered at low temperature where the hydrogen bond network and the hydrogen molecules are expected to be ordered. At room temperature and below 30 GPa, it is the thermal effects that play an essential role in stabilizing the structure in "cubic" symmetry. Above 60 GPa, the hydrogen bonds in the framework would be symmetrized and the hydrogen bond order-disorder transition would disappear. These results also suggest the phase behavior of other filled-ice hydrates. In the case of rare gas hydrate, there would be no guest molecules' rotation-nonrotation transition since the guest molecules keep their spherical symmetry at any temperature. On the contrary methane hydrate MH-III would show complex transitions due to the lower symmetry of the guest molecule. These results would encourage further experimental studies, especially nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy and neutron scattering, on the phases of filled-ice hydrates at high pressures and/or low temperatures.

Superconductive sodalite-like clathrate calcium hydride at high pressures.

Hydrogen-rich compounds hold promise as high-temperature superconductors under high pressures. Recent theoretical hydride structures on achieving high-pressure superconductivity are composed mainly of H(2) fragments. Through a systematic investigation of Ca hydrides with different hydrogen contents using particle-swam optimization structural search, we show that in the stoichiometry CaH(6) a body-centered cubic structure with hydrogen that forms unusual "sodalite" cages containing enclathrated Ca stabilizes above pressure 150 GPa. The stability of this structure is derived from the acceptance by two H(2) of electrons donated by Ca forming an "H(4)" unit as the building block in the construction of the three-dimensional sodalite cage. This unique structure has a partial occupation of the degenerated orbitals at the zone center. The resultant dynamic Jahn-Teller effect helps to enhance electron-phonon coupling and leads to superconductivity of CaH(6). A superconducting critical temperature (T(c)) of 220-235 K at 150 GPa obtained from the solution of the Eliashberg equations is the highest among all hydrides studied thus far.

First-principles study of liquid gallium at ambient and high pressure.

The static and dynamic properties of liquid Ga close to the melting line have been studied by first-principles molecular dynamics simulations at ambient and elevated pressure up to 5.8 GPa. Below 2.5 GPa, the nearest neighbor Ga-Ga separation shows little change, while the second and third coordination shells are compressed to shorter distances. This behavior is attributed to the gradual occupation of the interstitial sites. Detail analysis of the local geometry and dynamical behavior refutes the proposed existence of Ga(2) dimers in the liquid state. In fact, both the structure and electronic properties of the liquid are found to closely resemble that of the underlying Ga-II and Ga-III crystalline phases.

Dissociation of methane under high pressure.

Methane is an extremely important energy source with a great abundance in nature and plays a significant role in planetary physics, being one of the major constituents of giant planets Uranus and Neptune. The stable crystal forms of methane under extreme conditions are of great fundamental interest. Using the ab initio evolutionary algorithm for crystal structure prediction, we found three novel insulating molecular structures with P2(1)2(1)2(1), Pnma, and Cmcm space groups. Remarkably, under high pressure, methane becomes unstable and dissociates into ethane (C(2)H(6)) at 95 GPa, butane (C(4)H(10)) at 158 GPa, and further, carbon (diamond) and hydrogen above 287 GPa at zero temperature. We have computed the pressure-temperature phase diagram, which sheds light into the seemingly conflicting observations of the unusually low formation pressure of diamond at high temperature and the failure of experimental observation of dissociation at room temperature. Our results support the idea of diamond formation in the interiors of giant planets such as Neptune.

First-principles prediction on the high-pressure structures of transition metal diborides (TMB2, TM = Sc, Ti, Y, Zr).

We have extensively explored the high-pressure structures of transition-metal diborides (TMB(2), TM = Sc, Ti, Y, and Zr) stabilized with the AlB(2)-type structure at ambient pressure by using first-principles structural prediction. We find two novel high-pressure structures: (i) a monoclinic structure (C2/m, Z = 4) for ScB(2) and YB(2) stable above 208 and 163 GPa, respectively; and (ii) a tetragonal alpha-ThSi(2)-type phase (I4(1)/amd, Z = 4) for TiB(2) stable above 215 GPa. Our calculations show that the electron transfer from transition-metals TM to B under pressure might be the main cause for the structural phase transitions. Further phonon and hardness calculations suggest that alpha-ThSi(2) phase of TiB(2) is quenchable to ambient pressure and possesses excellent mechanical property with a Vickers hardness of 29.8 GPa. Interestingly, ZrB(2) is quite stable and persists on the ambient-pressure AlB(2)-type structure up to at least 300 GPa. We attribute the strong covalent hybridization between the transition-metal Zr and B to this ultrastability.

High-pressure crystal structures and superconductivity of Stannane (SnH4).

There is great interest in the exploration of hydrogen-rich compounds upon strong compression where they can become superconductors. Stannane (SnH(4)) has been proposed to be a potential high-temperature superconductor under pressure, but its high-pressure crystal structures, fundamental for the understanding of superconductivity, remain unsolved. Using an ab initio evolutionary algorithm for crystal structure prediction, we propose the existence of two unique high-pressure metallic phases having space groups Ama2 and P6(3)/mmc, which both contain hexagonal layers of Sn atoms and semimolecular (perhydride) H(2) units. Enthalpy calculations reveal that the Ama2 and P6(3)/mmc structures are stable at 96-180 GPa and above 180 GPa, respectively, while below 96 GPa SnH(4) is unstable with respect to elemental decomposition. The application of the Allen-Dynes modified McMillan equation reveals high superconducting temperatures of 15-22 K for the Ama2 phase at 120 GPa and 52-62 K for the P6(3)/mmc phase at 200 GPa.

Pressure-induced intermolecular interactions in crystalline silane-hydrogen.

The structure and dynamics of a recently discovered solid silane-hydrogen complex under high pressure are elucidated with first-principles molecular dynamics calculations. A structure with orientationally disordered silane and hydrogen with their centers of mass arranged in a distinctive manner are found. Natural bond orbital analysis reveals that perturbative donor-acceptor interactions between the two molecular species are enhanced by pressure. The experimentally observed anticorrelated pressure-frequency dependency is a consequence of these novel interactions. Moreover, the experimentally observed multiple Raman peaks of H2 can be explained by temporal changes in the environment due to deviations of the lattice parameters from the ideal cubic lattice.

First-principles studies of liquid lithium under pressure.

Effects of compression on the structural and electronic properties of liquid lithium are investigated with first-principles molecular dynamics calculations. Within a large pressure range up to 60 GPa, along isotherms from 600 to 1000 K, several structural transformations were found. The liquid structures at high pressure are found to be not sensitive to the temperature within this range. It is shown that the radial distribution functions broadly resemble the corresponding solid phases, particularly at low pressures. The evolution of the electronic structure under pressure also shows a remarkable similarity to the underlying solid. However, detailed analyses of the temporal liquid inherent structures show that the instantaneous short-range order may differ significantly from the underlying known solid phase.

Superconducting high pressure phase of germane.

High-pressure structures of germane (GeH4) are explored through ab initio evolutionary methodology to reveal a metallic monoclinic structure of C2/c (4 molecules/cell). The C2/c structure consists of layerlike motifs containing novel "H2" units. Enthalpy calculations suggest a remarkably wide decomposition (Ge+H2) pressure range of 0-196 GPa, above which C2/c structure is stable. Perturbative linear-response calculations for C2/c GeH4 at 220 GPa predict a large electron-phonon coupling parameter lambda of 1.12 and the resulting superconducting critical temperature reaches 64 K.