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Following the discovery of high-temperature superconductivity in the La–H system, we studied the formation of new chemical compounds in the barium-hydrogen system at pressures from 75 to 173 GPa. Using in situ generation of hydrogen from NH3BH3, we synthesized previously unknown superhydride BaH12 with a pseudocubic (fcc) Ba sublattice in four independent experiments. Density functional theory calculations indicate close agreement between the theoretical and experimental equations of state. In addition, we identified previously known P6/mmm-BaH2 and possibly BaH10 and BaH6 as impurities in the samples. Ab initio calculations show that newly discovered semimetallic BaH12 contains H2 and H3– molecular units and detached H12 chains which are formed as a result of a Peierls-type distortion of the cubic cage structure. Barium dodecahydride is a unique molecular hydride with metallic conductivity that demonstrates the superconducting transition around 20 K at 140 GPa.

We conducted a joint experimental-theoretical investigation of the high-pressure chemistry of europium polyhydrides at pressures of 86-130 GPa. We discovered several novel magnetic Eu superhydrides stabilized by anharmonic effects: cubic $EuH_{9}$, hexagonal $EuH_{9}$, and an unexpected cubic (Pm-3n) clathrate phase, $Eu_{8}H_{46}$. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that cubic $EuH_{9}$ has antiferromagnetic ordering with T(Neel) up to 24 K, whereas hexagonal $EuH_{9}$ and Pm-3n-$Eu_{8}H_{46}$ possess ferromagnetic ordering with T(Curie) = 137 and 336 K, respectively. The electron-phonon interaction is weak in all studied europium hydrides, and their magnetic ordering excludes s-wave superconductivity, except, perhaps, for distorted pseudohexagonal $EuH_{9}$. The equations of state predicted within the DFT+U approach (the Hubbard corrections were found within linear response theory) are in close agreement with the experimental data. This work shows the great influence of the atomic radius on symmetry-breaking distortions of the crystal structures of superhydrides and on their thermodynamic stability.

The current search for room-temperature superconductivity is inspired by the unique properties of the electron-phonon interaction in metal superhydrides. Encouraged by the recently found highest-$T_C$ superconductor fcc-$LaH_{10}$, here we discover several superhydrides of another lanthanide - neodymium. We identify three novel metallic Nd-H phases at pressure range from 85 to 135 GPa: $I4/mmm$-$NdH_4$, $C2/c$-$NdH_7$, $P6_3/mmc$-$NdH_9$, synthesized by laser-heating metal samples in NH3BH3 media for in situ generation of hydrogen. A lower trihydride $Fm\bar{3}m$-$NdH_3$ is found at pressures from 2 to 52 GPa. $I4/mmm$-$NdH_4$ and $C2/c$-$NdH_7$ are stable from 135 down to 85 GPa, and $P6_3/mmc$-$NdH_9$ from 110 to 130 GPa. Measurements of the electrical resistance of NdH9 demonstrate a possible superconducting transition at ~4.5 K in $P6_3/mmc$-$NdH_9$. Our theoretical calculations predict that all the neodymium hydrides have antiferromagnetic order at pressures below 150 GPa and represent one of the first discovered examples of strongly correlated superhydrides with large exchange spin-splitting in the electron band structure (> 450 meV). The critical N$��$el temperatures for new neodymium hydrides are estimated using the mean-field approximation as about 4 K ($NdH_4$), 251 K ($NdH_7$) and 136 K ($NdH_9$)., 21 pages, 6 figures, Supporting Information

Arundo donax was used to investigate the effect of the enzyme and substrate concentrations on hydrolysis, pre-hydrolysis and simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (PSSF), in comparison to simultaneous saccharification and fermentation (SSF). Hydrolysis was performed at 37 and 50 °C. At the highest biomass (10%) and enzyme (69.6 FPU/g cellulose) loadings, the highest glucose concentration (32.4 g/L) was obtained (at 50 °C). SSF resulted in a cellulose conversion (91.9%) and an ethanol concentration (19.8 g/L) higher than what was obtained using PSSF at 37 °C (86.9% and 18.8 g/L, respectively) and PSSF at 50 °C (81.6% and 17.7 g/L, respectively). A positive correlation between the cellulase concentration, cellulose conversion, and ethanol content was observed. In PSSF, the increase in the solids loadings caused a reduction in the % cellulose conversion, but the ethanol concentration in PSSF and SSF increased. SSF appeared to be the most advantageous process for bioethanol production from A. donax.