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Volume 40 Issue 4
Apr 2026
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Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics  > 2026  >  40(4): 040106.
ZHANG Zihan, DUAN Defang, CUI Tian. Metallic Hydrogen Ligand Compounds: A Potential Route to Superconducting Metallic Hydrogen at Ambient Pressure[J]. Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics, 2026, 40(4): 040106. doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20251216
Citation: ZHANG Zihan, DUAN Defang, CUI Tian. Metallic Hydrogen Ligand Compounds: A Potential Route to Superconducting Metallic Hydrogen at Ambient Pressure[J]. Chinese Journal of High Pressure Physics, 2026, 40(4): 040106. doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20251216
shu

Metallic Hydrogen Ligand Compounds: A Potential Route to Superconducting Metallic Hydrogen at Ambient Pressure

doi: 10.11858/gywlxb.20251216
  • 1.

    Department of Physics and Astronomy, Uppsala University, Uppsala 75120, Sweden

  • 2.

    State Key Laboratory of Superhard Materials, Key Laboratory of Material Simulation Methods & Software of Ministry of Education, College of Physics, Jilin University, Changchun 130012, Jilin, China

  • 3.

    Institute of High Pressure Physics, School of Physical Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo 315211, Zhejiang, China

  • Received Date: 28 Sep 2025
  • Rev Recd Date: 16 Oct 2025
    • Available Online: 26 Oct 2025
  • Issue Publish Date: 05 Apr 2026
    Abstract
  • Metallic hydrogen, with its properties including room-temperature superconductivity and quantum fluidity, is known as the holy grail of high-pressure physics. However, since atomic metallic hydrogen requires pressures about 500 GPa, it has not been realized in experiments since its conception in 1935. To take advantage of properties the properties of metallic hydrogen in the future, it will be crucial to obtain it at ambient pressure. Current approaches to obtaining metallic hydrogen at low pressures rely on the “chemical precompression” in hydrides to induce metallization of hydrogen at low pressures, essentially identifying superconducting hydrides that can host the properties of metallic hydrogen. However, these superconducting hydrides currently lack distinct structural features, complicating the search for metallic hydrogen hosts. Here, we identify metallic hydrogen ligand compounds with hydrogen as the ligands as potential hosts for properties of metallic hydrogen at low pressures. The metallization of the non-bonding orbitals of the hydrogen ligands is a key criterion for determining whether a metallic hydrogen ligand compound can host metallic hydrogen properties. This article summarizes the main behaviors of hydrogen at ambient pressure, focusing on hydrogen ligand compounds at ambient pressure. Then, using a simple model of a one-dimensional hydrogen atom chain, we analyzed the causes of non-bonding orbital metallization and the physical picture of reduced stability pressure. The orbital characteristics of metallic hydrogen ligand compounds are then analyzed, highlighting their rules of superconductivity, topological properties, and the electronic structure that enable metallization. The analysis of metallic hydrogen ligand compounds presented in this article not only provides important structural information for future exploration of metal hydride superconductors but also provides an important theoretical foundation for realizing the properties of metallic hydrogen at ambient pressure.

     

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