Organic Superconductor

In physical chemistry and condensed matter physics, an organic superconductor is an organic compound which exhibits superconductivity at low temperatures. As of 2007 the highest achieved critical temperature for an organic superconductor at ambient pressure is 33 kelvin, observed in the alkali-doped fullerene RbCs₂C₆₀.

There are a large number of materials that can be described as organic superconductors. These include the Bechgaard salts and Fabre salts which are both quasi one-dimensional, and quasi two-dimensional materials such as k-BEDT-TTF₂X charge transfer salts, λ-BETS₂X compounds, graphite intercalation compounds and three dimensional materials such as the alkali-doped fullerenes.

In 1979 Klaus Bechgaard synthesized the first organic superconductor (TMTSF)₂PF₆ (the corresponding material class was named after him later) with a transition temperature of T_C = 1.1 K (at an external pressure of 6.5 kbar).

Organic superconductors are of special interest not only for scientists, looking for room-temperature superconductivity and for model systems explaining the origin of superconductivity but also for daily life issues as organic compounds are mainly built of carbon and hydrogen which belong to the most common elements on earth in contrast to copper or osmium.