On March 2, the paper with the theme of "Critical Role of Hydrogen for Superconductivity in Nickelates" was published online in Nature, with the achievements of new superconducting materials studied by Professor Qiao Liang's team from the School of Physics of the University of Electronic Science and Technology of China (UESTC) in cooperation with Chengdu University (CDU). The research was actively supported by research groups from Diamond Light Source in the United Kingdom, the Beijing Computational Science Research Center (CSRC), Peking University, and the University of New South Wales, Australia.

As a star superconducting material, nickelate epitaxial growth films can only be synthesized by the topological reaction of metal hydrides. Synthesis of nickelate films in this way tends to introduce hydrogen. Due to the light weight of the hydrogen element, it cannot be detected by most detection methods, resulting in its influence on the structure and physical properties of the film being ignored. In view of this, Professor Wang Qingyuan at the Institute of Advanced Studies of CDU and the Postdoctoral Wu Xiaoqiang, in cooperation with Professor Qiao Liang from UESTC, Ph.D. Zhou Kejin from Diamond Light Source, and Researcher Huang Bing from CSRC, have verified the Hall Effect of Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2Hx (x=0.2~0.5) film through physical property tests, revealing the existence of hydrogen in this film and solving the mystery of the superconducting properties of nickelates. Part of the physical property tests was completed by the multi-functional physical property measurement system (PPMS) of the Institute of Advanced Studies of CDU, which successfully verified the Hall Effect. The research was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (NSFC), the Science & Technology Department of Sichuan Province, and the Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities.

Transport Characteristics and H-doped Phase Diagram of Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2Hx

Electronic Structure of Nd0.8Sr0.2NiO2Hx

In recent years, closely aligned with elevant national, provincial, and municipal policy documents, CDU has been implementing the talent strategy and the internationalization strategy. It focuses on the strategic deployment of the "541" project of the CPC Chengdu Municipal Committee and Chengdu Municipal People's Government, and on the strategic planning of the university's development. CDU has been attracting high-level talents, and strengthening research cooperation and exchanges both in China and internationally, so as to improve the quality and impact of CDU's scientific research.

Reference link: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-05657-2