A new perspective on ductile high-Tc superconductors under ambient pressure: few-hydrogen metal-bonded hydrides

Abstract Superconducting materials have garnered widespread attention due to their zero-resistance characteristic and complete diamagnetism. After more than 100 years of exploration, various high-temperature superconducting materials including cuprates, nickelates, iron-based compounds, and ultra-high pressure multi-hydrides have been discovered. However, the practical application of these materials is severely hindered by their poor ductility and/or the need for high-pressure conditions to maintain structural stability. To address these challenges, we first provide a new thought to build high-temperature superconducting materials based on few-hydrogen metal-bonded hydrides under ambient pressure. We then review the related research efforts in this article. Moreover, based on the bonding type of atoms, we classify the existing important superconducting materials and propose the new concepts of pseudo-metal and quasi-metal superconductivity, which are expected to be helpful for the design of new high-temperature superconducting materials in the future.