Molecular Hydride Superconductor BiH4 with Tc up to 91 K at 170 GPa

• DOI: 10.1021/jacs.4c15137
• Publication Date: 2024-12-23T08:25:59Z
• Authors: Pengfei Shan; Liang Ma; Xin Yang; Mei Li; Ziyi Liu; Jun Hou; Sheng Jiang; LiLi Zhang; Lifen Shi; Pengtao Yang; Chuanlong Lin; Bosen Wang; Jianping Sun; Haizhong Guo; Yang Ding; Huiyang Gou; Zhongxian Zhao; Jinguang Cheng

In pursuit of high-Tc hydride superconductors, the molecular hydrides have attracted less attention because hydrogen quasimolecules are usually inactive for superconductivity. Here, we report on successful synthesis a novel bismuth superconductor C2/c-BiH4 at pressures around 170–180 GPa. Its structure comprises atoms and elongated molecules with H–H bond length 0.81 Å 170 GPa, characterizing it as typical hydride. Transport measurements revealed occurrence superconductivity Tc up to 91 K evidenced by sharp drop resistivity zero characteristic downward shift under magnetic fields. Calculations density functional theory elucidate that both midfrequency H-derived phonons low-frequency vibrations from Bi important strong electron–phonon coupling in BiH4, differentiating most superconducting hydrides. Our work not only places among superconductors highest but also offers new directions designing synthesizing more superconductors.