Modulated Structure Calculated for Superconducting Hydrogen Sulfide.

Compression of hydrogen sulfide using first principles metadynamics and molecular dynamics calculations revealed a modulated structure with high proton mobility which exhibits a diffraction pattern matching well with experiment. The structure consists of a sublattice of rectangular meandering SH- chains and molecular-like H3 S+ stacked alternately in tetragonal and cubic slabs forming a long-period modulation. The novel structure offers a new perspective on the possible origin of the superconductivity at very high temperatures in which the conducting electrons in the SH chains are perturbed by the fluxional motions of the H3 S resulting in strong electron-phonon coupling.