Absence of Superconductivity in LK-99 at Ambient Conditions

Wednesday - August 16 2023, 12:13 UTC - 1 year ago

A research group from Peking University has recently attempted to replicate the levitation effect reported in the LK99 paper. They fail to produce superconductivity, instead observing a "semi-levitation" effect. The cause of this is potentially related to variations on the original paper, such as switching from sintering to oxygen annealing. The research team is investigating further and waiting for the review of the original paper before drawing any conclusions.

A Peking University research group has recently done an attempt to replicate the levitation effect that was reported by Lk99. However, the sample used is not a superconductor, as the primary paper stated. Instead, the group observed a “semi-levitation” effect on the sample, which they describe as the result of magnetic torque. This could mean that sintering does not work and that only oxygen annealing produces the desired levitation effect. It could also mean that the steps listed in the rushed LK99 paper are incomplete, or that getting superconductivity into LK99 like samples is hard and rare. It could even mean that there is no superconductivity with LK99 and the class of LK99 like and inspired materials.

The opinion of the researchers is that more thorough investigation needs to be done to answer the questions raised by this effect. Variations of the samples need to be checked, and the team is waiting for the original team to publish their complete peer-reviewed paper by the end of the month or next month.

With the current information available, it is impossible to draw any strong conclusions about the effects of the semi-levitation in LK99. However, it is clear that levitation effects can be achieved with LK99 and other similar materials, which opens up a multitude of possibilities in high-tech research and development.