Large improvement in thermoelectric performance of pressure-tuned Mg3Sb2

Because of the modified electronic band structure, the thermoelectric properties of Mg3Sb2 can be improved by pressure tuning.

Pressure tuning of the anomalous Hall effect in the kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5

Controlling the anomalous Hall effect (AHE) inspires potential applications of quantum materials in the next generation of electronics. The recently discovered quasi-2D kagome superconductor CsV3Sb5 exhibits large AHE accompanying with the charge-density-wave (CDW) order which provides us an ideal platform to study the interplay among nontrivial band topology, CDW, and unconventional superconductivity. Here, we systematically investigated the pressure effect of the AHE in CsV3Sb5. Our high-pressure transport measurements confirm the concurrence of AHE and CDW in the compressed CsV3Sb5. Remarkably, distinct from the negative AHE at ambient pressure, a positive anomalous Hall resistivity sets in below 35 K with pressure around 0.75 GPa, which can be attributed to the Fermi surface reconstruction and/or Fermi energy shift in the new CDW phase under pressure. Our work indicates that the anomalous Hall effect in CsV3Sb5 is tunable and highly related to the band structure.

Superconductivity modulated by structural phase transitions in pressurized vanadium-based kagome metals

The interplay of superconductivity with electronic and structural instabilities on the kagome lattice provides a fertile ground for the emergence of unusual phenomena. The vanadium-based kagome metals AV3Sb5 (A = K, Rb, Cs) exhibit superconductivity on an almost ideal kagome lattice, with the superconducting transition temperature Tc forming two domes upon pressure-tuning. The first dome arises from the competition between superconductivity and a charge-density-wave, whereas the origin for the second dome remains unclear. Herein, we show that the appearance of the second superconducting dome in KV3Sb5 and RbV3Sb5 is associated with transitions from hexagonal P6/mmm to monoclinic P2/m structures, evidenced by splitting of structural peaks from synchrotron powder X-ray diffraction experiments and imaginary phonon frequencies in first-principles calculations. In KV3Sb5, transition to an orthorhombic Pmmm structure is further observed for pressure p≥20 GPa, and is correlated with the strong suppression of Tc in the second superconducting dome. Our findings indicate distortions of the crystal structure modulates superconductivity in AV3Sb5 under pressure, providing a platform to study the emergence of superconductivity in the presence of multiple structural instabilities.