Layers of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) combine the enhanced effects of correlations associated with the two-dimensional limit with electrostatic control over their phase transitions by means of an electric field. Several semiconducting TMDs, such as MoS, develop superconductivity (SC) at their surface when doped with an electrostatic field, but the mechanism is still debated. It is often assumed that Cooper pairs reside only in the two electron pockets at the K/K' points of the Brillouin Zone. However, experimental and theoretical results suggest that a multivalley Fermi surface (FS) is associated with the SC state, involving six electron pockets at Q/Q'. Here, we perform low-temperature transport measurements in ion-gated MoS flakes. We show that a fully multivalley FS is associated with the SC onset. The Q/Q' valleys fill for doping ≳ 2 × 10 cm, and the SC transition does not appear until the Fermi level crosses both spin-orbit split sub-bands Q and Q. The SC state is associated with the FS connectivity and promoted by a Lifshitz transition due to the simultaneous population of multiple electron pockets. This FS topology will serve as a guideline in the quest for new superconductors.

Printed electronics has emerged as a pathway for large scale, flexible, and wearable devices enabled by graphene and two-dimensional (2D) materials. Solution processing of graphite and layered materials demonstrated mass production of inks allowing techniques such as inkjet printing to be used for device fabrication. However, the complexity of the ink formulations and the polycrystalline nature of the thin films, together with the metal, semimetal, and semiconducting behaviour of different 2D materials, have impeded the investigation of charge transport in inkjet printed 2D material devices. Here we unveil the charge transport mechanisms of surfactant-and solvent-free inkjet-printed thin-film devices of representative few-layer graphene (semi-metal), molybdenum disulfide (MoS2, semiconductor) and titanium carbide MXene (Ti3C2, metal) by investigating the temperature (T ), gate and magnetic field dependencies of their electrical conductivity. We find that charge transport in printed few-layer MXene and MoS2 devices is dominated by the intrinsic transport mechanism of the constituent flakes: MXene devices exhibit a weakly-localized 2D metallic behavior at any T , whereas MoS2 devices behave as insulators with a crossover from 3D-Mott variable-range hopping at low T to nearest-neighbor hopping around at ∼ 200 K. The charge transport in printed few-layer graphene devices is dominated by the transport mechanism between different flakes, which exhibit 3D-Mott variable range hopping conduction at any T . These findings reveal and finally establish the fundamental mechanisms responsible for charge transport in inkjet-printed devices with 2D materials, paving the way for a reliable design of high performance printed electronics.

The electrochemical gating technique is a powerful tool to tune the surface electronic conduction properties of various materials by means of pure charge doping, but its efficiency is thought to be hampered in materials with a good electronic screening. We show that, if applied to a metallic superconductor (NbN thin films), this approach allows observing reversible enhancements or suppressions of the bulk superconducting transition temperature, which vary with the thickness of the films. These results are interpreted in terms of proximity effect, and indicate that the effective screening length depends on the induced charge density, becoming much larger than that predicted by standard screening theory at very high electric fields.

We calculate the effect of a static electric field on the critical temperature of a s-wave one band superconductor in the framework of proximity effect Eliashberg theory. In the weak electrostatic field limit the theory has no free parameters while, in general, the only free parameter is the thickness of the surface layer where the electric field acts. We conclude that the best situation for increasing the critical temperature is to have a very thin film of a superconducting material with a strong increase of electron-phonon (boson) constant upon charging.

Designing materials with advanced functionalities is the main focus of contemporary solid-state physics and chemistry. Research efforts worldwide are funneled into a few high-end goals, one of the oldest, and most fascinating of which is the search for an ambient temperature superconductor (A-SC). The reason is clear: superconductivity at ambient conditions implies being able to handle, measure and access a single, coherent, macroscopic quantum mechanical state without the limitations associated with cryogenics and pressurization. This would not only open exciting avenues for fundamental research, but also pave the road for a wide range of technological applications, affecting strategic areas such as energy conservation and climate change. In this roadmap we have collected contributions from many of the main actors working on superconductivity, and asked them to share their personal viewpoint on the field. The hope is that this article will serve not only as an instantaneous picture of the status of research, but also as a true roadmap defining the main long-term theoretical and experimental challenges that lie ahead. Interestingly, although the current research in superconductor design is dominated by conventional (phonon-mediated) superconductors, there seems to be a widespread consensus that achieving A-SC may require different pairing mechanisms. In memoriam, to Neil Ashcroft, who inspired us all.