Superconductivity in the elements, alloys and simple compounds

TL;DR

This paper reviews the history, experimental findings, and theoretical understanding of superconductivity in elements, alloys, and simple compounds, highlighting their role in developing BCS theory and understanding conventional superconductors.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive overview of ambient-pressure superconductivity in simple materials, emphasizing their importance in the development of BCS theory and understanding electron-phonon interactions.

Findings

Superconductivity in elements, alloys, and simple compounds was foundational to BCS theory.

These materials are examples of conventional superconductors caused by electron-phonon interactions.

The review summarizes experimental and theoretical insights into these fundamental superconductors.

Abstract

We give a brief review of superconductivity at ambient pressure in elements, alloys, and simple three-dimensional compounds. Historically these were the first superconducting materials studied, and based on the experimental knowledge gained from them the BCS theory of superconductivity was developed in 1957. Extended to include the effect of phonon retardation, the theory is believed to describe the subset of superconducting materials known as `conventional superconductors', where superconductivity is caused by the electron-phonon interaction. These include the elements, alloys and simple compounds discussed in this article and several other classes of materials discussed in other articles in this Special Issue.