Abstract
High-pressure structures of germane () are explored through ab initio evolutionary methodology to reveal a metallic monoclinic structure of (). The structure consists of layerlike motifs containing novel “” units. Enthalpy calculations suggest a remarkably wide decomposition () pressure range of 0–196 GPa, above which structure is stable. Perturbative linear-response calculations for at 220 GPa predict a large electron-phonon coupling parameter of 1.12 and the resulting superconducting critical temperature reaches 64 K.
- Received 6 July 2008
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1103/PhysRevLett.101.107002
©2008 American Physical Society