Lower pressure phases and metastable states of superconducting photo-induced carbonaceous sulfur hydride

Abstract

Room-temperature superconductivity was recently discovered in carbonaceous sulfur hydride (C-S-H) close to 3\,Mbar. We report significant differences in the superconducting response of C-S-H, with a maximum $T_C$ of 191(1)\,K, below a 1\,Mbar. Variations in intensity of the C-H Raman modes reveal carbon content can vary between crystals synthesized with the same photo-induced method. Synchrotron single crystal x-ray diffraction identifies polymorphism with increasing degrees of covalency. These unique metastable states are highly sensitive to thermodynamic pathways.