Superconducting hydrides under pressure

TL;DR

This paper reviews recent progress in high-temperature superconductivity in hydrides under pressure, highlighting experimental challenges, theoretical predictions, and future prospects for discovering new superconductors at lower pressures.

Contribution

It discusses the interplay of theory, computation, and experiment in understanding superconductivity in hydrides and explores the potential for discovering new materials at more accessible pressures.

Findings

Superconductivity above 200K observed in hydrogen sulfide and lanthanum hydride.

Computational methods enable accurate predictions of critical temperatures.

High-pressure experiments are challenging but crucial for exploring new superconductors.

Abstract

The measurement of superconductivity at above 200K in compressed samples of hydrogen sulfide and lanthanum hydride at 250K is reinvigorating the search for conventional high temperature superconductors. At the same time it exposes a fascinating interplay between theory, computation and experiment. Conventional superconductivity is well understood, and theoretical tools are available for accurate predictions of the superconducting critical temperature. These predictions depend on knowing the microscopic structure of the material under consideration, and can now be provided through computational first principles structure predictions. The experiments at the megabar pressures required are extremely challenging, but for some groups at least, permit the experimental exploration of materials space. We discuss the prospects for the search for new superconductors, ideally at lower pressures.