Nickelate Superconductors
Nickel oxides become the second family of high-temperature superconductors: 80 K under pressure (2023), 92-96 K since, about 40 K as films at normal pressure.
Open in the interactive tree →After 1986 researchers searched for decades for a 'nickel cuprate', since nickel sits next to copper in the periodic table. In 2019 infinite-layer nickelate films superconducted at around 10 to 15 K; in 2023 Chinese groups reported La3Ni2O7 at about 80 K above 14 GPa (140,000 bar). In 2025 strained La3Ni2O7 films (Stanford, SUSTech) and a samarium-based infinite-layer nickelate (Singapore) superconducted at normal pressure with onsets near 40 K.
As of October 2026
Under pressure, flux-grown La2SmNi2O7 single crystals reach an onset of 92 K near 21 GPa, and La1.57Sm1.43Ni2O7 reaches 96 K (Nature, 2026). At normal pressure the film records are near 40 K; in August 2026 Nature Materials reported 67 to 73 K for strained films squeezed to 16 GPa. Nickelates thus pass liquid-nitrogen temperature (77 K) only under pressure, while the normal-pressure record among all materials remains the mercury cuprate Hg-1223 at 133 K (a Houston group reported 151 K after a pressure quench in March 2026, not yet independently replicated).
Open steps
- Ambient-pressure Tc above 77 K Medium AI leverageRaise film transition temperatures from the current 40-63 K range toward liquid-nitrogen temperature by tuning strain, oxygen content and layer balance.
- Pairing mechanism of bilayer nickelates Medium AI leverageDecide which orbitals and interlayer coupling drive pairing, using many-body numerics and spectroscopy, so new compositions can be designed instead of found by trial.
- Phase-pure crystals and films Medium AI leverageControl oxygen content and stacking faults so samples show full superconducting volume and agree between labs.
- Predicted nickelates, made and measured Medium AI leverageSynthesize and measure ML-proposed compounds such as Tb3Ni2O7 at high pressure, to test whether predictions beat chemical intuition.
Where AI could help
Medium AI leverage. ML plus first-principles screening can propose substitutions and strain, but crystals and films under pressure must be grown and measured.
- Screen rare-earth and structural variants of bilayer nickelates for Tc and stability
- Optimize film-growth parameters such as strain and oxygen content with Bayesian methods
- Learn pressure-Tc trends from the growing experimental data set
Shown so far
- In September 2025 a preprint combined machine learning with DFT to propose Tb3Ni2O7 (predicted Tc about 62 K) and Ac3Ni2O7 (about 70 K) as high-pressure nickelate superconductors (predictions only). source