AsianScientist (Sep. 2, 2016) – A research group in Japan has discovered the crystal structure of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) in its superconducting phase at the relatively high temperature of -70°C.
Superconductivity is a phenomenon that occurs when the electrical resistance of materials reaches zero as they are cooled down to a certain temperature. While the possible scenarios for its use are manifold, widespread use is difficult as costs for cooling are high. Last year, H2S set a new record for having the highest superconducting transition temperature under high pressure.
Led by Professor Katsuya Shimizu and Dr. Mari Einaga at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, together with colleagues at the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Germany and the Japan Synchrotron Radiation Research Institute, the researchers sconducted simultaneous measurements of high pressure electrical resistance and X-ray diffraction at SPring-8 in Japan, one of the world’s largest synchrotrons.
From the crystal structure of the superconducting phase of hydrogen sulfide in the normal and superconducting states, the researchers showed that under high pressure, H2S molecules underwent a structural change to H3S and that this H3S structure exhibited superconductivity.
Furthermore, from simultaneously measuring changes in pressure of superconducting transition temperature, they discovered that H3S displayed two superconducting phases: one with a cubic structure, the other with a hexagonal structure. Then, they managed to prove previous predictions from theoretical calculations.
These results, published in Nature Physics, mark a huge step towards developing room-temperature superconductors, which may provide promising solutions to today’s energy shortage problems.
The article can be found at: Einaga et al. (2016) Crystal Structure of the Superconducting Phase of Sulfur Hydride.
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Source: Osaka University.
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