Predicted Formation of Superconducting Platinum-Hydride Crystals under Pressure in the Presence of Molecular Hydrogen

Noble metals adopt close-packed structures at ambient pressure and rarely undergo structural transformation at high pressures. Platinum (Pt) is normally considered to be unreactive and is therefore not expected to form hydrides under pressure. We predict that platinum hydride (PtH) has a lower enthalpy than its constituents solid Pt and molecular hydrogen at pressures above 21.5 GPa. PtH transforms to a hexagonal close-packed or face-centered cubic (fcc) structure between 70 and 80 GPa. Linear response calculations indicate that PtH is a superconductor at these pressures with a critical temperature of about 10-25 K. These findings help to shed light on recent observations of pressure-induced metallization and superconductivity in hydrogen-rich materials. We show that the formation of fcc noble metal hydrides under pressure is common and examine the possibility of superconductivity in these materials.