Phys.org November 22, 2022
An international team of researchers (Germany, UK, Sweden, USA – University of Chicago) has presented the results of their single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies on lanthanum hydrides which revealed an unexpected chemical and structural diversity of lanthanum hydrides synthesized in the range of 50 to 180 GPa. They produced seven lanthanum hydrides LaH3, LaH~4, LaH4+δ, La4H23, LaH6+δ, LaH9+δ, and LaH10+δ, and determined the atomic coordinates of lanthanum in their structures. The regularities in rare-earth element hydrides the team has shown provide clues to guide the search for other synthesizable hydrides and candidate high-temperature superconductors. The hydrogen content variability in lanthanum hydrides and the samples’ phase heterogeneity underline the challenges related to assessing potentially superconducting phases and the nature of electronic transitions in high-pressure hydrides…. read more. Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE
Arrangement of lanthanum atoms in the lanthanum hydrides… Credit: Nature Communications volume 13, Article number: 6987 (2022)Â