University of Houston researchers receive funding boost for superconductivity study

Researchers at the Texas Center for Superconductivity at the University of Houston have secured additional funding from Intellectual Ventures to advance their study on superconductivity. The project, led by Paul C.W. Chu and Liangzi Deng, has received $767,000 in funding so far.

Brian Holloway of Intellectual Ventures expressed enthusiasm about the research, stating, “Intellectual Ventures funded this research because Paul Chu is one of the acknowledged thought leaders in the area of superconductivity with a multi-decade track record of scientific innovation and creativity.” He further noted that the work could lead to significant advancements in the field.

Chu highlighted the benefits of working with Intellectual Ventures: “Working with IV gives us the freedom known for scientific pursuit and at the same time provides intellectual guidance and assistance in accord with the mission goal.”

Deng emphasized potential outcomes: “This could pave the way for exploring physics of novel metastable states and set a milestone toward advancing superconductor applications.”

The researchers aim to achieve high-temperature superconductivity at atmospheric pressure. Current high-Tc superconductors require extreme pressures, complicating practical applications. The team is focusing on making these conditions more accessible using a method called "pressure-quench protocol" (PQP).

In their first year, they established a system to synthesize materials under specific conditions and are now refining it for rare-earth hydrides. Chu explained their progress: “For the first time, we succeeded in retrieving PQed samples to ambient pressure from the diamond anvil cell... Our team also demonstrated that PQP and depressurization can lead to higher Tc at ambient pressure for some compounds.”

Looking ahead, Deng mentioned plans for further exploration: "If successful, UH will once again break the record for highest superconducting Tc at atmospheric pressure... Our research has far-reaching implications."