Achievement of Superconductivity at Room-Temperature

Scientists from Various Universities (Department of Mechanical Engineering, School of Engineering and Applied Sciences, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Rochester, Rochester, NY, USA, Intel Corporation, Hillsboro, OR, USA, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA, Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Nevada Las Vegas, Las Vegas, NV, USA) and their research collaboration team have discovered a mystery material that conducts electricity without any resistance at a room temperature of up to 15 °C. It is a new record for superconductivity, a phenomenal effect which is usually operated at very cold temperatures. As per the discovery in 2015, the material itself shows the potential of a class of superconductors.

Over the past decades, there was an emerging interest in the discovery of materials relevant to room-temperature superconductivity mainly for the production of sensitive magnetometers based on SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices). Extreme pressure has proven the most versatile order parameter and a mechanism for pressure-induced metallization which facilitates the production of new quantum materials with unique stoichiometries. Although superconductors have a wide variety of applications from magnetic resonance imaging machines to mobile-phone towers, it has a serious limitation, that it survives lone under extremely high pressures which means that it will not have any immediate practical applications. Still the physicists hope for the best to pave the way for the development of zero-resistance materials that can function at lower pressures [1].

Prof. Davide Castelvecchi says that “Material breaks a symbolic barrier – but extreme pressure conditions make it difficult to analyse”. A scientist Mikhail Eremets, from the Max Planck Institute for Chemistry in Mainz, Germany, reported a latest research study, on a convincing evidence of high-temperature conductivity, which was published in Nature on 14^thOctober 2020. Further he adds the high-pressure, high-temperature superconductor, it indicates a line of work that he started in 2015, a compound that consists of hydrogen and sulfur will have zero resistance up to -70 °C [2].

Ashkan Salamat, a physicist from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas says that a high-pressure compound of hydrogen and lanthanum was shown to be superconductive at –13 °C in 2018. However, the latest research studies showed that, the superconductivity has been seen in a compound of three elements rather than two, the material is made of carbon, sulfur and hydrogen. Adding a third element will greatly broaden the combinations which can be include for future experiments to be searching for new superconductors [3]. Another Physicist Ranga Dias from the University of Rochester in New York, along with Salamat and other collaborators, have reported that the mixture of carbon, hydrogen and sulfur is placed in a microscope and make carved between the tips of two diamonds. They triggered the chemical reactions in the sample through laser light, as crystals are identified. Further, they have lowered the experimental temperature, resistance to current passed through the material dropped to zero, indicating that the sample had become superconductive and found that this transition occurred only at higher temperatures.

Prof. E. Snider and his collaborators have achieved, one of the long-standing challenges in experimental physics is the observation of room-temperature superconductivity in carbonaceous sulfur hydride. The photochemically synthesized C–S–H system becomes superconducting of its highest critical temperature (T_c) being = 287.7 ± 1.2 K and pressure at 267 ± 10 GPa and the temperature probe’s accuracy is ±0.1 K. They noted that with increasing pressure, the resistance of the sample decreases, showing that it becomes more metallic at higher pressure conditions [1].

Figure 1. The superconductivity laboratory at the University of Rochester, New York [1].

Magnetic Susceptibility

A superior test for superconductivity which is usually practiced is the search of a strong diamagnetic transition in the a.c. magnetic susceptibility. The onset of superconductivity is signal to (10–15 nV), with a sharp drop in susceptibility indicates a diamagnetic transition, that shifts to higher temperatures with an increasing pressure. In this way, the highest transition temperature measured is at 198 K (transition midpoint), reached at the highest pressure (measured 189 GPa). The quality of this data is very high and the given small sample size (~80 μm) in diameter and 5–10 μm. Therefore, substantial challenges for measuring properties like magnetic susceptibility suggest a need for novel experimental capabilities, such as spectroscopic techniques or magnetic sensing using nitrogen vacancy centres.

Magnetic-Field Response

For further confirmation, the superconducting transition at higher pressure they exploit the inherent antagonism between an external magnetic field and superconductivity. As per Bardeen–Cooper–Schrieffer theory, an external magnetic field exerts a Lorentz force to the opposite momenta of the electrons in a Cooper pair (the diamagnetic effect)and induces a Zeeman effect polarizing the initially spin-paired states of the pair electrons (the Pauli paramagnetic effect). Both these effects result the breaking of a Cooper pair, thus reducing the critical temperature (T_c) of the material and setting up with an upper critical field (H_c) such as that the superconducting state will survive.

Our SNB team recommended this research article to enrich our viewer’s knowledge to know about the achievement of superconductivity at room-temperature. A very accurate structure determination of hydrogen-rich materials under very high pressure is extremely challenging, and they believed that the structural and stoichiometric determination of super hydride systems will enable the direct probing of elements such as carbon and sulfur. The main key factor that can achieve for very-high-T_csuperconductors for the stable (or metastable) at ambient pressure is the ‘Compositional Tuning’ of the C–S–H ternary systems through a controlling molecular exchange at lower pressures. Hence, a robust room-temperature superconducting material will transform the energy economy, quantum information processing and sensing that can be achievable.

References

E. Snideret al.,Nature 586, 373(2020).
A. P.Drozdov, et al., Nature 525, 73(2015).
M. Somayazulu, et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 122, 027001(2019).

Blog Written By

Dr. Y. Sasikumar

School of Materials Science and Engineering,

Tianjin University of Technology, China

Author Profile

Editors

Dr. A. S. Ganeshraja

Dr. K. Rajkumar

Dr. S. Chandrasekar

Reviewers

Dr. S. Thirumurugan

Dr. K. Vaithinathan

Comments

Electro-Organic Synthesis: Next Emerging Technique

Industrial developments, excessive energy consumption, sustainable technologies, environmental cleaning processes are major topics of political and social discourse. Current innovations are rated not only focusing on their benefit and utility but also concerning their eco-friendly approaches. The development of green technological processes is becoming more important and requires harmless energy sources. Particularly over the past decade, the severe limitations of fossil resources intensify the movement towards sustainable synthesis techniques with a strict cutback in the ecological footprint [ 1 ]. Electro-organic synthesis belongs to the synthetic organic chemistry discipline that facilities the direct use of electricity to generate valuable compounds. Hence, it is possible to transfer green aspects of sustainable energy sources to the whole production process [ 2 ]. Since the Kolbe’s discoveries of using electricity as a reagent for organic transformations over 170 years ago, ...

Designing of Corrosion Resistant Alloys via Percolation Theory

Canada and USA Scientists have reported on designing of corrosion-resistant alloys via percolation theory and published in Nature Materials on 01 February 2021. Nickel–chromium, Iron–chromium binary alloys can serve as the prototypical corrosion-resistant metals owing to its presence of a nanometre-thick protective passive oxide film. The main key criterion for good passive behavior is the passive film should be compromised via a scratch or abrasive wear that can be reformed with a little metal dissolution. This could be a principal reason for the stainless steels and other chromium containing alloys that are used for critical applications which ranges from nuclear reactor components to biomedical implants. A long-standing unanswered question in corrosion science is the unravelling of the compositional dependence of the electrochemical behavior of the alloys [ 1, 2 ]. The discovery of the family of these alloys were increased its rate with the advent of artificial intelligence, da...

AN ACT OF FACE MASK MATERIAL USED TO PROTECT US FROM SARS-COV-2

“ In the absence of a vaccine, or effective antiviral, one of our only remaining strategies for controlling COVID-19 is to physically block the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the community ” On 11 March 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared the COVID-19 outbreak a global pandemic [1] . In the absence of a vaccine, or effective antiviral, one of our only remaining strategies for controlling COVID-19 is to physically block the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the community. Given that COVID-19 is a respiratory illness, the most effective physical defense likely involves widespread public use of face coverings, in conjunction with other control measures [ 2 ] . Face coverings (also variously referred to as face masks, nonmedical masks, community masks or barrier masks ) function primarily in source control; capturing droplets expelled by an infected individual [3] . Figure 1. DIY masks to protect against from viruses sounds like a crazy idea. source click here In the absence of an...

Electric Vehicle: Public Health and Climate Benefits

A research team led by Daniel Peters at Northwestern University has investigated that if we introducing electrifying vehicles in the streets of the United States could annually prevent hundreds-to-thousands of premature accidental deaths.This work highlights the potential of a synergistic solution to reduce CO 2 emissions by hundreds to millions of tons annually. The estimate of economic damages induced by introducing electrifying vehicles (EV) adoption is substantial. With current infrastructure, about 25% of electrifying vehicles adoption in the US can save approximately $16.8 billion annually, has been told in the study entitled"Public Health and Climate Benefits and Trade offs of U.S. Vehicle Electrification," in GeoHealth on 13 th August 2020 [1] . Vehicle electrification in the United States could prevent hundreds to thousands of premature deaths annually while reducing carbon emissions by hundreds of millions of tons. This highlights the potential of co-beneficial...

Novel Approach of Plastic Waste to Flash Graphene

Prof. Algozeeb and his research collaboration team have investigated an novel approach of upcycling plastic waste (PW) products to flash graphene (FG). This method relies on Flash Joule Heating (FJH) to convert PW into FG. A sequential direct current (DC) and alternating current (AC) flash is used in order to make a high-quality graphene. In this FJH process, they established without catalyst and works for PW mixtures that can make the process suitable for handling landfill PW. In 21 st century, PW pollution is considerable one among the various environmental issues. A very large fraction of PW ends up in the ocean, which leads to the formation of micro- and nanoplastics that threaten marine life, micro-organisms, useful bacteria, and humans. From the intense carbon footprint process, most of these synthesized plastics are used only once before dumping into landfills or water ways that terminate in the oceans. Hence, upcycling PW to higher value materials and chemicals is econ...

PROSPECTS ON PHOTOBIOREFINERY

Very recently, Prof. Dr. K. Faungnawakij and his research group have summarized a mini review report on an emerging renewable technique of Photobiorefinery . This is one of the beyond technique of Artificial Photosynthesis (AP) [1] . Despite great promises, AP technologies for solar H2 production and CO2 reduction are far uncompetitive to other promising technologies at the current stage . However, despite an enormous effort, time, and budget paid on AP-related researches throughout several decades, AP technologies have struggled to strive beyond laboratory demonstration except a very few exceptions [2] . This bitter reality makes the translation of this excellent science to practical application questionable [3] . Technoeconomic analysis shows that without achieving the aggressive technology targets, this technology will not be commercially viable. This has directed the research community towards the development of highly efficient yet expensive devices. While tremendous p...

Electromagnetic Field: Non-Chemical Water Treatment Technology

An interesting review report on “A critical review of the application of electromagnetic fields for scaling control in water systems: mechanisms, characterization, and operation” was reported by Lu Lin, Wenbin Jiang, Xuesong Xu and Pei Xu published in Nature Partner Journals Clean Water published on June 2020 [1] . Water is the precious matter in the world. source U.S. General Services Administration has interested on non-chemical water treatment technologies. It has mentioned following important points: n on-chemical technology promises to increase the period between required blow-down cycles, thus reducing water consumption , minimizes associated issues of chemical storage, handling, and disposal, and may permit on-site re-use of cooling-tower “blow-down” water as “grey water” , it promises to be life cycle cost effective based solely on the reduction in chemical costs , this technology may reduce or eliminate chemical costs, it may not reduce other contractor costs ...

Single-Atom Catalysis in Chemistry World

The recent interest on the heterogeneous single-atom catalysts (SACs) were composed of atomically dispersed active metal cen ters in catalyst research field, because of the increased atom utilization and unique catalytic properties of such materials, which differ greatly from those of conventional nano or subnano counter parts. In this case, the fabrication of SACs are challenging, especially in the case of noble metal based catalysts and many researches are ongoing in this field for the development of improved catalysts. Many chall enges have faced for the hybridization of controlling of single atoms in suitable host materials, but it has also equally opened with unique opportunities for catalyst design. SACs with atomically dispersed active metal centers on supports represent an intermediary between heterogeneous and homogeneous catalysis. Therefore, understanding the homogeneous catalysis prototype creates a great opportunity for designing SACs and developing related applications....

A Novel Green Synthesis of Au/TiO2 Nanocomposites

Prof. Lahiru A. Wijenayaka, Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology (SLINTEC), Mahenwatte, Pitipana, Homagama, Sri Lanka and his collaboration team has reported on the interesting materials for effective environmental alternative remediation via nontoxic, low cost and eco-friendly methods dedicated to the scientific community. Here, a novel, facile, and green synthetic approach to synthesize gold nanoparticle decorated over TiO 2 (Au/TiO 2 ) nanocomposites for sustainable environmental development has been discussed [ 1 ] . Based on various metal oxide semiconductor (MOS) photocatalysts, titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) is the most widely used, owing to its effective and excellent results in optical transmittance, high refractive index, chemical stability, concurrently being stable, nontoxic, and inexpensive [ 2 ]. They are highlighted with the following points: (i) Synthesis of the Au/TiO 2 nanocomposite, (ii) Microscopic characterization, (iii) Dye adsorption on Au/TiO 2 and (iv) Photoca...

Postdocs Crisis: The "Last Generation" of Scientists

Postdoctoral Researchers play a vital role in the research productivity of several countries and serving as leaders, mentors, guides, teachers, and scientists. These researchers have developed their own skills and preparing themself for their scientific research careers with various research groups worldwide. Even performing in a short term, they need to spend additional years in some special cases for succession in their research careers. Senior research investigators or leaders who have promised to their younger colleagues or students for a long term contract in the academics should find a new pathway to make it possible to stay and plan for their long-term career. Also, these investigators should be more flexible, patience, and supportive for everyone in their research groups. But the main key point which they should focus on that was the researchers who want to pursue fulfilling careers in science elsewhere need to be supported in all means, whatever matters, whoever may be, the ta...

Search This Blog