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Research dossier · version 1 · updated Oct 30, 2026

Superconducting Hydrides Under Pressure: State of the Field (October 2026)

Covers hydrogen-rich superconductors stabilized at megabar pressures, including H3S, LaH10, yttrium, calcium and ternary superhydrides, the diamond-anvil measurement methods they depend on, and the reproducibility failures behind the retraction of two earlier room-temperature-era reports, in 2022 and 2023. The main takeaway: the best-established experimental critical temperatures cluster near 200 to 250 K, while the 2025 near-room-temperature La-Sc-H preprint remains unconfirmed and ambient-pressure hydride superconductivity remains calculated in the literature checked.

3,770 words34 sources29 evidence-mapped claims15 benchmarks20 timeline events✓ citation-verified Oct 30, 2026

AI-assisted synthesis of the cited literature, independently fact-checked against its sources; not peer reviewed.

Contents

  1. Executive summary
  2. Background and core concepts
  3. Timeline of key milestones
  4. State of the art
  5. Sulfur and lanthanum hydrides
  6. Yttrium, calcium, cerium and related superhydrides
  7. Ternary systems and the 2025 La-Sc-H claim
  8. Lower-pressure routes and new chemistries
  9. Quantitative benchmarks
  10. Open problems and active debates
  11. Reproducibility of room-temperature claims
  12. Measurement limits at megabar pressure
  13. Theory versus experiment
  14. Coulomb pseudopotential and anharmonic corrections
  15. Lutetium hydrides
  16. The La-Sc-H claim
  17. Ambient-pressure route
  18. Major programs and players
  19. Outlook: what to watch (next 12-18 months)
  20. Key papers
  21. Glossary

Sample findings

  • The sulfur hydride H3S reached a critical temperature of 203 K at about 155 GPa, the first high-Tc benchmark of the modern hydride program.
  • LaH10 reached a critical temperature of about 250 K, the binary benchmark used in this dossier.
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