Pressure-induced superconductivity in quasi-one-dimensional ZrS3

Abstract

Due to their strong anisotropic and quasi-one-dimensional (1D) nature, transition metal trichalcogenides (TMTCs) MX3 exhibit extraordinary electronic properties, such as charge density waves, superconducting transitions, and potentially a Luttinger liquid state. Rich quantum phenomena emerge under pressure, owing to enhanced interchain interactions, and exhibit strong dependencies on the elements M and X. In this paper, we investigate structural phase transitions and the insulator-to-superconductor transition in highly insulating ZrS3 under pressures up to 119 GPa. A first-order isosymmetric transition occurs above 16 GPa, companying by a sudden reduction in the band gap due to the breaking of S-S bonds within the 1D chains and the formation of S-S bonds between chains. Superconducting behavior is observed starting at 63 GPa, with Tc increasing under pressure and reaching 9.1 K at 119 GPa. Our findings provide insights into the high-pressure electronic properties of insulating ZrS3 and stimulate further exploration of emergent phenomena in other low-dimensional material systems.

Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval

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