Superconductivity above 30 K Achieved in Dense Scandium

Superconductivity is one of most intriguing quantum phenomena,and the quest for elemental superconduc-tors with high critical temperature(Tc)is of great scientific significance due to their relatively simple material composition and the underlying mechanism.Here we report the experimental discovery of densely compressed scandium(Sc)becoming the first elemental superconductor with Tc breaking into 30 K range,which is comparable to the Tc values of the classic La-Ba-Cu-O or LaFeAsO superconductors.Our results show that Tenset of Sc increases from～3K at around 43 GPa to～32K at about 283 GPa(Tczero～31K),which is well above liquid neon temperature.Interestingly,measured Tc shows no sign of saturation up to the maximum pressure achieved in our experiments,indicating that Tc may be even higher upon further compression.