Conventional superconductivity at 203 kelvin at high pressures in the sulfur hydride system
A. P. Drozdov, M. I. Eremets, I. A. Troyan, V. Ksenofontov, S. I. Shylin
Summary
The authors compressed hydrogen sulfide (H2S) to extreme pressures around 150 GPa, forming a hydrogen-rich phase believed to be H3S, and observed a sharp drop in resistance signalling superconductivity at up to 203 K. A pronounced isotope effect upon deuterium substitution indicated phonon-mediated, BCS-type (conventional) superconductivity. This set a record transition temperature at the time and validated theoretical predictions of high-Tc superconductivity in compressed hydrides.
Key findings
- Superconductivity observed at up to 203 K in compressed sulfur hydride (likely H3S) near 150 GPa.
- Large isotope shift on D substitution confirms a conventional, phonon-mediated pairing mechanism.
- Record-high superconducting Tc at the time, exceeding that of cuprates.
Subjects & keywords
Cite this paper
A. P. Drozdov, M. I. Eremets, I. A. Troyan, V. Ksenofontov, & S. I. Shylin (2015). Conventional superconductivity at 203 kelvin at high pressures in the sulfur hydride system. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14964
@article{drozdov2015conventional,
author = {A. P. Drozdov and M. I. Eremets and I. A. Troyan and V. Ksenofontov and S. I. Shylin},
title = {Conventional superconductivity at 203 kelvin at high pressures in the sulfur hydride system},
journal = {Nature},
year = {2015},
doi = {10.1038/nature14964},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1038/nature14964}
}