PhD Thesis Defense- Antonella Meninno

Ab initio study of hydrogen based superconducting compounds at ambient pressure

April 4, 11:00

CFM Auditorium

Candidate: Antonella Meninno

Supervisor:  Ion Errea Lope

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Summary

We aim to study candidates for high temperature superconductivity at ambient pressure through first-principles computations. We study hydrogen-based systems, given the recent observations that proved that compounds of this class can be superconductors, at least at high pressure. The challenge is now to reduce the pressure at which superconductivity is attained, with the final objective to understand if high temperature superconductivity is possible at ambient pressure. We have examined the palladium hydride and the hydrogen boride, together with benzene chains, focusing in particular on nonacene. The work realized is a contribution to the understanding of the role of hydrogen in superconductivity, and constitutes a basis for future works that can build on the results that we obtained.

Representation of the three compounds studied in this thesis.