Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but...

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Polymorphism in Ca(BH x ) 2 : towards superconductivity in ternary hydrides Simone Di Cataldo, Graz University of Technology, Sapienza, Università di Roma L. Boeri, La Sapienza, Università di Roma W. Von der Linden, Graz University of Technology

Transcript of Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but...

Page 1: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Polymorphism in Ca(BHx)2: towards superconductivity

in ternary hydrides!Simone Di Cataldo, Graz University of Technology,!Sapienza, Università di Roma!L. Boeri, La Sapienza, Università di Roma!W. Von der Linden, Graz University of Technology!

!

!

Page 2: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Superconductivity in hydrides!Hydrogen-rich materials: rising star for high-Tc superconductivity (SH3, LaH10, YH6)!Challenges still open:!1.  Pressures needed above 1 Mbar!2.  All binary compounds (AxHy) computationally explored!3.  Ternary compounds (AxByHz): challenging phase space!!  Look at compounds known from experiment!!  CaxByHz molecular crystals, known but unexplored!!  Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!!

(PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!

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𝑇↓𝑐 = ⟨𝜔↓𝐷 ⟩/1.20 exp(− 1.04(1+𝜆)/𝜆− 𝜇↑∗ −0.62𝜆𝜇↑∗  )!

McMillan, Phys. Rev. 167, (1968) !

𝜆 = 𝑁(𝜀↓𝐹 ) 𝐼↑2 /𝑀⟨𝜔↑2 ⟩  !Hopfield, Phys. Rev. 186, (1969) !

H is the lightest element (large ⟨𝜔↓𝐷 ⟩)!Large 𝜆 if !

!  𝐼↑2  is large: strong bonds!

!  𝑁( 𝜀↓𝐹 ) is large: good metal!

!Problem: strong bond (usually) found for insulators!Solutions:!1.  Band overlap (high pressure)!2.  Doping!

Page 3: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Outline!Our work!Structural search of ternary calcium boron hydrides (CaxByHz) at room and higher pressure using DFT and genetic algorithms (USPEX). !!  Which are the stable stoichiometries under pressure?!!  Is there a structural pattern?!!  Are there candidates for low pressure superconductivity?!

3!

Page 4: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Convex hull:!0 GPa!

!  Sampling of ~4000 structures (USPEX)!

!  Four pressures: !0, 50, 100, 300 GPa!

!  Phase diagram until 300 GPa!

4!

Stable!Metastable!

ΔH

(meV/atom

)!330!

0.0!

Page 5: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Convex hull:!0 GPa!

!  Sampling of ~4000 structures!

!  Inclusion of experimentally known structures!

!  Keep metastable!

!  Further relaxation: !forces down to <1 meV/atom!

5!

Stable!Metastable!

Page 6: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Convex hull:!0 GPa!

!  Sampling of ~4000 structures!

!  Inclusion of all known

structures !

!  Keep metastable!

!  Further relaxation:!forces down to <1 meV/atom!

!  Ca(BHn)2, n=0,1,2,3,4!

!  Stable above 50 GPa!

!  Focus on 0 – 50 Range!

!  Focus on Ca(BHx)2 line!6!

Stable!Metastable!

Page 7: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

“Carbonized” boron!

"  Molecular crystals!

"  Hydrocarbon-like!

"  B-H and B-B, softened covalent bonds!

"  Interstitial calcium!

7!Ca(BH3)2 - ethane! Ca(BH4)2 - methane!

Ca(BH) - polyacetylene! Ca(BH2)2 - polyethylene!

Page 8: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

“Carbonized” boron!

"  Molecular crystals!

"  Hydrocarbon-like!

"  B-H and B-B, softened covalent bonds!

"  Interstitial calcium!

"  Insulating!!

8!Ca(BH3)2 - ethane! Ca(BH4)2 - methane!

Ca(BH) - polyacetylene! Ca(BH2)2 - polyethylene!

(poor) metal! GAP: 2.65 eV!

GAP: 4.59 eV! GAP: 5.68 eV!

Page 9: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Ca(BH2)2!

“Carbonized” Ca(BH2)2 !

"  Decreased band width!

"  Decreased band gap!

"  Doping easier than in polyethylene!

"  Doped polyethylene: 35 K!

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CH2!

“Superconductivity in doped polyethylene at high pressure”!J. Flores-Livas et al, Eur. Phys. J. B., 91: 126 (2018)!

Page 10: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

“Carbonized” Ca(BH2)2 !

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"  Rigid band calculations: estimated doping, rough estimate of Tc!

"  Doping: holes or electrons, Tc ( 𝜇↑∗ =0.1) ~15 to 50 K (±0.5 e/fu)!

Page 11: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Effect of doping and H content !

!  Holes more effective than electrons!

!  Tc grows at higher H content!

!  Sizable Tc at reasonable doping!

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Page 12: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Summary!

!  Which are the stable stoichiometries under pressure?!

"  Found stable stoichiometries along the Ca(BHx)2 line!

!  Is there a structural pattern?!"  Various polymorphic carbon-like structures!"  Covalent B-H and B-B bonds!

!  Are there candidates for low pressure superconductivity?!

"  Doping easier than hydrocarbons!"  Tc as high as 50 -100 K at room pressure!

"  In progress!!  Suitable dopant (Na or Y)!!  Calculation for doped structure!!  High pressure phases!

12!

Page 13: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Polymorphism in Ca(BHx)2: towards superconductivity

in ternary hydrides!

Simone Di Cataldo!Graz University of Technology!

La Sapienza, Università di Roma!

!L. Boeri, La Sapienza, Università di Roma!W. Von der Linden, Graz University of Technology!

Thanks for your attention!!

Page 14: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

“Carbonized” Ca(BHx)2 (0 GPa)!

"  B-H and B-B, softened covalent bonds!

"  Boron covalent bonds ~13% longer!

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Element (room press.)

B – B distance (Å)

C – C distance (Å)

B – H distance (Å)

C – H distance (Å)

Polyacetylene! 1.67! 1.45! 1.26! 1.09!

Polyethylene! 1.81! 1.53! 1.26! 1.10!

Ethane! 1.74! 1.52! 1.24! 1.10!

Methane! NA! NA! 1.24! 1.10!

Page 15: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

“Carbonized” boron!

"  Molecular crystals!

"  Hydrocarbon-like!

"  B-H and B-B, softened covalent bonds!

!

15!

“Superconductivity in doped polyethylene at high pressure”!J. Flores-Livas et al, Eur. Phys. J. B., 91: 126 (2018)!

Page 16: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

“Carbonized” Ca(BH2)2 !

"  Molecular crystals!

"  Hydrocarbon-like!

"  B-H and B-B, softened covalent bonds!

"  Decreased band width!

"  Decreased band gap!

16!

Ca(BH2)2!CH2!

Page 17: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Polyacetylene!

"  Molecular crystal!

"  Hydrocarbon-like!

"  Conductive polymer!

"  B-H and B-B, softened

covalent bonds!

17!Ca(BH)2 polyacetylene-like!

Page 18: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

100 GPa!

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!  New metastable phase appears!

Stable!Metastable!

Page 19: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

300 GPa!

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!  Off-stoichiometric, metallic phases!

Stable!Metastable!

Page 20: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Calculation parameters (phase diagram)!

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PAW pseudopotential (semi-core)!PBE functional!PW expansion up to 600 eV!!Forces:!up to 1 meV/Å!Distance in k-space 0.20 (2 π/a )!Smearing 0.08 eV!!Total energy:!Distance in k-space 0.20 (2 π/a )!Tetrahedron method with Blöchl corrections!

Page 21: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Calculation parameters (electron phonon)!

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PAW pseudopotential (semi-core)!PBE functional!PW expansion up to 80 Ry (1088 Ry)!!Charge density:!up to 1 meV/Å!K-grid 6x6x6 for 2 f.u., 4x4x4 for 4 f.u.!Smearing 0.06 Ry (0.8 eV)!!Electron phonon:!𝜆!K-grid: 16x16x16!Smearing: 0.010 Ry!Tc!𝜆/𝑁( 𝜀↓𝐹 )(1) × 𝑁( 𝜀↓𝐹 )(2) !

Page 22: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

CaBH phase - 300 GPa!

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CaBH, polyacetylene-like!

Page 23: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Outline!

Hydrogen-rich materials: rising star for high-Tc superconductivity (SH3, LaH10, YH6)!Challenges still open:!

1)  Pressures needed above 1 Mbar!2)  All binary compounds (AxHy) computationally explored!3)  Ternary compounds (AxByHz): challenging phase space!!  Look at compounds known from experiment!!  CaxByHz molecular crystals, known but unexplored!!  Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!!

(PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Our work!Structural search of ternary calcium boron hydrides (CaxByHz) at room and higher pressure using DFT and genetic algorithms (USPEX). !!  Which are the stable stoichiometries under pressure?!!  Is there a structural pattern?!!  Are there candidates for superconductivity?!

23!

Page 24: Polymorphism in Ca(BH towards superconductivity in ternary ... · z molecular crystals, known but unexplored!! Studied for hydrogen storage, rich in H!! (PRB, 82, 174107 (2010))!!

Why is H good for superconductivity?!

!

"  H is the lightest element (large ⟨𝜔↓𝐷 ⟩)!

"  Large 𝜆 if !

!  𝐼↑2  is large: strong bonds!

!  𝑁( 𝜀↓𝐹 ) is large: good metal!

!Problem: strong bond (usually) found for insulators!Solutions:!1.  Band overlap (high pressure)!2.  Doping!

24!

𝑇↓𝑐 = ⟨𝜔↓𝐷 ⟩/1.20 exp(− 1.04(1+𝜆)/𝜆− 𝜇↑∗ −0.62𝜆𝜇↑∗  )!

McMillan, Phys. Rev. 167, (1968) !

𝜆 = 𝑁(𝜀↓𝐹 ) 𝐼↑2 /𝑀⟨𝜔↑2 ⟩  !

Hopfield, Phys. Rev. 186, (1969) !