Realization of kagome lattice and superconductivity in topological electrides

Abstract

Realization of kagome lattice, and hence achieving specific performance, is a challenging issue in condensed matter physics. The corner-sharing triangles of kagome lattice are normally comprised of real atoms occupying certain Wyckoff sites. Here, we propose that the excess electrons in layered electrides Mg3N and Mg3O build the two-dimensional kagome lattices. The interstitial electrons further contribute to the nontrivial band topology, i.e., the Dirac points and the Dirac nodal lines in Mg3N and Mg3O. Further, the in-plane coupling between the electronic orbitals and the atomic vibrational modes dominate the electron-phonon coupling, and yield superconducting critical temperatures approaching 2.0 and 2.2 K for Mg3N and Mg3O, respectively. This work proposes a feasible scheme to construct kagome lattices by interstitial quasiatoms and provides a promising platform to explore the superconductivity and nontrivial band topology in kagome electrides.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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