Superconductivity in Alkali Metal-Deposited Monolayer BC: MBC (M = Na, K)

Abstract

In recent years, as two-dimensional (2D) materials have been widely used in electronic devices, searching for 2D high superconducting transition temperature (\(T_{c}\)) superconductors has also attracted great attentions. In this work, based on first-principles calculations and Eliashberg equation, the electronic structure, electron-phonon coupling (EPC) and possible superconductivity of alkali metal-deposited monolayer BC: MBC (M = Na, K) are studied. The results show that MBC (M = Na, K) are metallic and potential superconductors. The calculated EPC constants of MBC (M = Na, K) are 0.97 and 1.48, respectively. The strong coupling of MBC (M = Na, K) mainly origins from the coupling between electrons with the in-plane vibration modes of C and B atoms. The \(T_{c}\) of MBC (M = Na, K) are 34.1 K and 41.7 K, respectively, and the \(T_{c}\) of NaBC can be increased to 45.6 K under 2% biaxial tensile strain, and the \(T_{c}\) of KBC can be boosted to 53.8 K under 1% biaxial tensile strain. It is anticipated that the predicted monolayer MBC (M = Na, K) and its strained cases can be realized in future experiments.