Stabilizing superconductivity of ternary metal pentahydride $$\hbox {CaCH}_{{5}}$$ via electronic topological transitions under high pressure from first principles evolutionary algorithm

Abstract

AbstractWe explored the phase stability of ternary pentahydride $$\hbox {CaCH}_{{5}}$$ CaCH 5 based on the first principles evolutionary algorithm. Here, we successfully search for a candidate structure up to 500 GPa. As a consequence, the possible stable structure of $$\hbox {CaCH}_{{5}}$$ CaCH 5 is found be to a monoclinic structure with space group Pm at a pressure of 50 GPa. Moreover, the orthorhombic structure with a space group of Cmcm is found to be thermodynamically stable above 316 GPa. With this, the Kohn-Sham equation plays a crucial role in determining the structural stability and the electronic structure. Therefore, its structural stability is discussed in term of electronic band structure, Fermi surface topology, and dynamic stability. With these results, we propose that the superconducting transition temperature ($$\hbox {T}_{{c}}$$ T c ) of Cmcm structure is estimated to be 50 K at 450 GPa. This could be implied that the proposed Cmcm structure may be emerging as a new class of superconductive ternary metal pentahydride. Our findings pave the way for further studies on an experimental observation that can be synthesized at high pressure.