Russian scientists synthesized an unusual superconductor - barium superhydride

A Russian group of scientists from Skolkovo, together with their American and Chinese colleagues, first theoretically, and then experimentally obtained an unusual superconductor - barium superhydride, which is classified as a new high-temperature superconductors.

Search for high-temperature superconductors

From the very beginning of the 20th century, scientists around the world have been in search of so-called "room" superconductors - materials that which can have superconductivity under normal conditions, and not at incredibly high pressures or ultra-low temperature.

Initially, scientists had high hopes for metallic hydrogen, but experiments have shown that in order to get it, you need to create a pressure of a million atmospheres.

Therefore, chemical scientists began further experiments and began to introduce impurities to metallic hydrogen in the search for such a combination in which the creation of metallic hydrogen does not require such extreme conditions.

Many different compounds were obtained, but the question of the hydrogen content in such "strange" hydrides and the maximum temperature at which superconductivity is preserved is still open.

New experiment and new superconductor

In its new study, the scientific group headed by A. Oganov, with the help of colleagues from the United States and China, first using copyright software designed for predictions of the crystal structures of USPEX, performed an analysis of different variants of barium hydrides and opted for BaH12.

And only then this compound was obtained in laboratory conditions, and then its superconductivity was demonstrated and thoroughly analyzed.

The resulting compound turned out to be rather unusual, because due to its molecular structure, this the connection is a superconductor, although only when the temperature reaches 253 degrees Celsius with minus sign.

Despite such a low temperature of this superconductor, its creation and study is extremely important for the further development of already "room" superconductors.

What are the prospects for invention

Also, the compound obtained experimentally is unlikely to ever receive widespread practical application. Indeed, in order to obtain it, you need to create an incredible pressure of three million atmospheres and it turns out to be synthesized only in micro doses. But scientists are optimistic, because once today's real experiment was considered simply impossible.

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