Superconductivity at ~ 0.049 K in Laves phase HfZn2 predicted by first principles

TL;DR

This paper predicts superconductivity at approximately 0.049 K in HfZn2 using first principles calculations of electronic and phononic properties, providing insights into its potential as a superconductor.

Contribution

The study is the first to predict superconductivity in HfZn2 via first principles calculations, detailing its electronic structure and electron-phonon coupling.

Findings

Superconducting transition temperature Tc ≈ 0.049 K

Electronic density of states at Fermi level is 4.67 states/eV-fu

Electron-phonon coupling constant λ = 0.45

Abstract

We report the superconductivity at Tc ~ 0.049 K in Laves phase HfZn2. Based on the first principles method we have studied the details structural and electronic properties of HfZn2 according to which there are 4.67 states eV-1 fu-1 at Fermi level. Using this value we calculate the specific heat coefficient {\gamma} theoretically as 10.97 mJ/ K2 mol and then systematically calculate the electron-phonon coupling constant {\lambda} as 0.45. Finally applying these values in McMillan formula we get the superconducting critical temperature of HfZn2 as approximately 0.049 K.