Unexpected Xe cations and superconductivity in Y-Xe compounds under pressure

TL;DR

This study uses first-principles calculations to discover that under high pressure, Y-Xe compounds form intermetallic structures with positively charged Xe atoms, some of which exhibit superconductivity at low temperatures.

Contribution

It reveals new Y-Xe intermetallic compounds formed under pressure, demonstrating electron transfer and superconductivity, expanding understanding of noble gas chemistry under extreme conditions.

Findings

Y-Xe compounds form above 60 GPa with various stoichiometries.

All compounds are intermetallic with positively charged Xe.

Certain phases exhibit phonon-mediated superconductivity at low temperatures.

Abstract

The metal-based noble gas compounds exhibit interesting behavior of electronic valence states under pressure. For example, Xe upon compression can gain electrons from the alkali metal, or lose electrons unexpectedly to Fe and Ni, toward formation of stable metal compounds. In addition, the Na2He is not even stabilized by the local chemical bonds but via the long-range Coulomb interactions. Herein, by using the first-principles calculations and the unbiased structure searching techniques, we uncover that the transition metal Y is able to react with Xe above 60 GPa within various Y-Xe stochiometries, namely the YXe, YXe2, YXe3 and Y3Xe structures. Surprisingly, it is found that all the resulting compounds are intermetallic and Xe atoms are positively charged. We also argue that the pressure-induced changes of the energy orbital filling are responsible for the electron transfer from Xe to Y. Meanwhile, the Peierls-like mechanism is found to stabilize the energetically most favorable YXe-Pbam phase. Furthermore, the predicted YXe-Pbam, YXe-Pnnm, and YXe3-I4/mcm phases are discovered to be phonon-mediated superconductors under pressure, with the critical superconducting temperatures in the range of approximately 3-4K, 7-10K, and 5-6K, respectively. In summary, our work promotes further understanding of the crystal structures and electronic properties of the metal-based noble gas compounds.