{"id":45729,"date":"2025-04-24T04:57:06","date_gmt":"2025-04-24T04:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/45729\/"},"modified":"2025-04-24T04:57:06","modified_gmt":"2025-04-24T04:57:06","slug":"high-pressure-electron-tunneling-spectroscopy-reveals-nature-of-superconductivity-in-hydrogen-rich-compounds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/45729\/","title":{"rendered":"High-pressure electron tunneling spectroscopy reveals nature of superconductivity in hydrogen-rich compounds"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Nature<\/p>\n

Synthesis of planar tunnel junctions. Credit: Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-025-08895-2<\/p>\n

Scientists have achieved a major milestone in the quest to understand high-temperature superconductivity in hydrogen-rich materials. Using electron tunneling spectroscopy under high pressure, the international research team led by the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry has measured the superconducting gap of H3S\u2014the material that set the high-pressure superconductivity record in 2015 and serves as the parent compound for subsequent high-temperature superconducting hydrides.<\/p>\n

The findings, published<\/a> this week in Nature, provide the first direct microscopic evidence of superconductivity<\/a> in hydrogen-rich materials and an important step toward its scientific understanding.<\/p>\n

Superconductors are materials that can carry electrical current without resistance, making them invaluable for technologies such as energy transmission and storage, magnetic levitation, and quantum computing.<\/p>\n

However, this phenomenon has usually been found well below ambient temperature, limiting widespread practical applications. The discovery of superconductivity in hydrogen-rich compounds such as hydrogen sulfide<\/a> (H3S) which becomes superconductive at 203 Kelvin (-70\u00b0 Celsius) and lanthanum decahydride (LaH10) reaching superconductivity at 250 Kelvin (-23\u00b0 Celsius), marked a revolutionary advance towards achieving superconductivity at room temperature. Due to the transition temperature<\/a> well above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen, researchers refer to high-temperature superconductors<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The key to understanding superconductivity lies in the superconducting gap\u2014a fundamental property that reveals how electrons pair up to form the superconducting state. It is the identification of a superconducting state distinguishable from other metallic states.<\/p>\n

Yet, measuring the superconducting gap in hydrogen-rich materials like H3S has remained extremely difficult. These compounds must be synthesized in situ under extraordinary pressures\u2014more than a million times atmospheric pressure\u2014making conventional techniques to measure the gap, such as scanning tunneling spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, inapplicable.<\/p>\n

\"Nature<\/p>\n

Superconducting gap of D3S. Credit: Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-025-08895-2<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tTunneling technique provides direct insight into the superconducting state of hydrogen-rich compounds<\/p>\n

To overcome this barrier, researchers at the Max Planck Institute in Mainz developed a planar electron tunneling spectroscopy capable of operating under such extreme conditions. This achievement has enabled them to probe the superconducting gap in H3S for the first time, offering direct insight into the superconducting state<\/a> of hydrogen-rich compounds.<\/p>\n

Using this technique, the researchers discovered that H3S exhibits a fully open superconducting gap with a value of approximately 60 millielectron volts (meV), while its deuterium analog, D3S, shows a gap of about 44 meV. Deuterium is a hydrogen isotope and has one more neutron.<\/p>\n

The fact that the gap in D3S is smaller than in H3S confirms that the interaction of electrons with phonons\u2014quantized vibrations of the atomic lattice of a material\u2014causes the superconducting mechanism of H3S, supporting long-standing theoretical predictions.<\/p>\n

For the Mainz researchers, this breakthrough is not just a technical achievement\u2014it also lays the foundation for fully unraveling the origin of high-temperature superconductivity<\/a> in hydrogen-rich materials.<\/p>\n

“We hope that by extending this tunneling technique to other hydride superconductors, the key factors that enable superconductivity at even higher temperatures can be pinpointed. This should ultimately enable the development of new materials that can operate under more practical conditions,” states Dr. Feng Du, first author of the now published study.<\/p>\n

Dr. Mikhail Eremets, a pioneer in the field of high-pressure superconductivity who passed away in November 2024, described the study as “the most important work in the field of hydride superconductivity since the discovery of superconductivity in H3S in 2015.”<\/p>\n

Vasily Minkov, project leader of High-Pressure Chemistry and Physics at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry, commented, “Mikhail\u00b4s vision of superconductors operating at room temperature and moderate pressures comes a step closer to reality through this work.”<\/p>\n

More information:<\/strong>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFeng Du et al, Superconducting gap of H3S measured by tunnelling spectroscopy, Nature (2025). DOI: 10.1038\/s41586-025-08895-2<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tProvided by
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMax Planck Society<\/a>
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tCitation<\/strong>:
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tHigh-pressure electron tunneling spectroscopy reveals nature of superconductivity in hydrogen-rich compounds (2025, April 23)
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tretrieved 24 April 2025
\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tfrom https:\/\/phys.org\/news\/2025-04-high-pressure-electron-tunneling-spectroscopy.html\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t <\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, no
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