Superconductivity in two-dimensional phosphorus carbide (β0-PC)

Abstract

Two-dimensional (2D) boron has been predicted to show superconductivity. However, intrinsic 2D carbon and phosphorus have not been reported to be superconductors, which has inspired us to study the superconductivity of their mixture. Here we performed first-principles calculations for the electronic structure, phonon dispersion, and electron–phonon coupling of the metallic phosphorus carbide monolayer, β₀-PC. The results show that it is an intrinsic phonon-mediated superconductor, with an estimated superconducting temperature T_c of ∼13 K. The main contribution to the electron–phonon coupling is from the out-of-plane vibrations of phosphorus. A Kohn anomaly on the first acoustic branch is observed. The superconducting related physical quantities are found to be tunable by applying strain or by carrier doping.