The theory-driven quest for a novel family of superconductors: fluorides

Abstract

Due to the enormous electronegativity of fluorine, the vast majority of binary and higher inorganic fluorides are high-melting large-band-gap electronic insulators, which are transparent in the visible region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Rare examples of metallic fluorides are known, but valence orbitals of F marginally participate in the electronic transport in these compounds. In this account we describe recent theory-driven attempts to turn unusual fluorides of divalent silver – called fluoroargentates(II) – into a novel class of high-temperature superconductors.