07/06/2026
Researchers at MIT have discovered that rhombohedral graphene, a naturally occurring form of graphene found within graphite, can host multiple superconducting states. Even more remarkably, several of these states not only survive in the presence of a magnetic field, but actually become stronger under conditions that would typically destroy superconductivity.
The findings reveal a new family of unconventional superconducting states and provide fresh insight into the fundamental physics of quantum materials. By precisely tuning electrical conditions, researchers demonstrated that this seemingly simple carbon-based material can exhibit a surprising range of superconducting behaviors, opening new avenues for future quantum electronics and energy-efficient technologies.
âPeople might assume that this is a simple, boring carbon material,â says Long Ju, the Lawrence C. and Sarah W. Biedenharn Associate Professor of Physics at MIT. âBut we can control this material by tuning certain experimental âknobs,â such as electrical voltages. This is how a simple physical material can exhibit so many different superconducting properties.â
The studyâs MIT co-authors include co-first authors Junseok Seo and Shenyong Ye, together with Tonghang Han, Zhenghan Wu, Wei Xu, Jixiang Yang, Emily Aitken, Prayoga Liong, Phatthanon Pattanakanvijit, Zach Hadjri, and Mingda Li. External collaborators are co-first author Armel Cotten and members of Dominik Zumbuhlâs group at the University of Basel in Switzerland, plus others at Florida State University, the University of Florida, Gainesville, and the National Institute for Materials Science in Japan.
Read more: https://news.mit.edu/2026/graphene-can-hold-multiple-states-of-superconductivity-0629
