Superconductivity—a Chemical Phenomenon?

Abstract

The discovery of the oxidic high‐temperature superconductors has not only opened up scores of new applications but has also provided the chemist with straightforward relationships between the phenomenon of superconductivity and the more common concepts of oxidation number, changes in coordination, etc. The formation of Cooper pairs in oxocuprates is ascribed to valence fluctuations between Cu + and Cu 3+ . The oxygen, owing to its variable polarizability, thereby plays a crucial role—as in oxidic ferroelectric substances.