Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbon
Abstract Enhancing intermolecular interactions can reduce the band gap energy of organic molecules. Consequently, certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – typically wide-band-gap insulators – may undergo insulator-to-metal transitions under simple compression. This pressure-induced electronic tran...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
|
| Series: | Communications Materials |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00814-2 |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1850273462590898176 |
|---|---|
| author | Takeshi Nakagawa Caoshun Zhang Kejun Bu Philip Dalladay-Simpson Martina Vrankić Sarah Bolton Dominique Laniel Dong Wang Akun Liang Hirofumi Ishii Nozomu Hiraoka Gaston Garbarino Angelika D. Rosa Qingyang Hu Xujie Lü Ho-kwang Mao Yang Ding |
| author_facet | Takeshi Nakagawa Caoshun Zhang Kejun Bu Philip Dalladay-Simpson Martina Vrankić Sarah Bolton Dominique Laniel Dong Wang Akun Liang Hirofumi Ishii Nozomu Hiraoka Gaston Garbarino Angelika D. Rosa Qingyang Hu Xujie Lü Ho-kwang Mao Yang Ding |
| author_sort | Takeshi Nakagawa |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Enhancing intermolecular interactions can reduce the band gap energy of organic molecules. Consequently, certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – typically wide-band-gap insulators – may undergo insulator-to-metal transitions under simple compression. This pressure-induced electronic transition could enable the transformation of non-metallic organic materials into states exhibiting intriguing electronic properties, including high-temperature superconductivity. Here we investigate a pressure-induced transition in dicoronylene (C48H20), an insulator at ambient conditions, to a semiconducting state with a resistivity drop of three-orders-of-magnitude at 23.0 GPa. Through the complementary integration of transport property measurements with in situ UV-Visible absorption, Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments, as well as first-principles studies, we propose a possible mechanism for the pressure-driven electronic structure evolution of C48H20. The discovery of an intriguing electronic transition at pressures well below the megabar observed marks a promising step towards realizing a single-component purely hydrocarbon molecular metal. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-e6a2e0c046cf4796946630aa1f4187e1 |
| institution | OA Journals |
| issn | 2662-4443 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Communications Materials |
| spelling | doaj-art-e6a2e0c046cf4796946630aa1f4187e12025-08-20T01:51:28ZengNature PortfolioCommunications Materials2662-44432025-05-016111110.1038/s43246-025-00814-2Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbonTakeshi Nakagawa0Caoshun Zhang1Kejun Bu2Philip Dalladay-Simpson3Martina Vrankić4Sarah Bolton5Dominique Laniel6Dong Wang7Akun Liang8Hirofumi Ishii9Nozomu Hiraoka10Gaston Garbarino11Angelika D. Rosa12Qingyang Hu13Xujie Lü14Ho-kwang Mao15Yang Ding16Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchCenter for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchCenter for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchCenter for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchDivision of Materials Physics, Ruđer Bošković InstituteCentre for Science at Extreme Conditions and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of EdinburghCentre for Science at Extreme Conditions and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of EdinburghCenter for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchCentre for Science at Extreme Conditions and School of Physics and Astronomy, University of EdinburghNational Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC)National Synchrotron Radiation Research Center (NSRRC)European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF)Center for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchCenter for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchCenter for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchCenter for High Pressure Science and Technology Advanced ResearchAbstract Enhancing intermolecular interactions can reduce the band gap energy of organic molecules. Consequently, certain polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons – typically wide-band-gap insulators – may undergo insulator-to-metal transitions under simple compression. This pressure-induced electronic transition could enable the transformation of non-metallic organic materials into states exhibiting intriguing electronic properties, including high-temperature superconductivity. Here we investigate a pressure-induced transition in dicoronylene (C48H20), an insulator at ambient conditions, to a semiconducting state with a resistivity drop of three-orders-of-magnitude at 23.0 GPa. Through the complementary integration of transport property measurements with in situ UV-Visible absorption, Raman spectroscopy and synchrotron X-ray diffraction experiments, as well as first-principles studies, we propose a possible mechanism for the pressure-driven electronic structure evolution of C48H20. The discovery of an intriguing electronic transition at pressures well below the megabar observed marks a promising step towards realizing a single-component purely hydrocarbon molecular metal.https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00814-2 |
| spellingShingle | Takeshi Nakagawa Caoshun Zhang Kejun Bu Philip Dalladay-Simpson Martina Vrankić Sarah Bolton Dominique Laniel Dong Wang Akun Liang Hirofumi Ishii Nozomu Hiraoka Gaston Garbarino Angelika D. Rosa Qingyang Hu Xujie Lü Ho-kwang Mao Yang Ding Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbon Communications Materials |
| title | Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbon |
| title_full | Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbon |
| title_fullStr | Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbon |
| title_full_unstemmed | Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbon |
| title_short | Narrowing band gap chemically and physically: conductive dense hydrocarbon |
| title_sort | narrowing band gap chemically and physically conductive dense hydrocarbon |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s43246-025-00814-2 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT takeshinakagawa narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT caoshunzhang narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT kejunbu narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT philipdalladaysimpson narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT martinavrankic narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT sarahbolton narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT dominiquelaniel narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT dongwang narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT akunliang narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT hirofumiishii narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT nozomuhiraoka narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT gastongarbarino narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT angelikadrosa narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT qingyanghu narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT xujielu narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT hokwangmao narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon AT yangding narrowingbandgapchemicallyandphysicallyconductivedensehydrocarbon |