Orthorhombic B 8 : A Boron Allotrope with Coexisting Superhard and Superconducting Properties

Boron materials, particularly boron allotropes, have emerged as appealing potential hard and superconducting species for practical applications due to their abundant building blocks, robust chemical bonding patterns, and peculiar electron structures induced by an electron deficiency. However, the boron isomers that simultaneously exhibit superhardness above 40 GPa and superior superconductivity have yet to be recognized. Here, leveraging a first-principles intelligent structure prediction, we id