Room-Temperature Superconductor Lab Breakthrough: Korean Team's Improved LK-99 Material Achieves 72-Hour Continuous Superconduction at Ambient Pressure

On April 5, Professor Lee Suk-bae's team at Seoul National University's Physics Department published a paper in Physical Review Letters reporting that their improved superconductor LK-99M, developed from the 2023 globally controversial LK-99 material, achieved 72-hour continuous zero-resistance at ambient pressure and 21°C room temperature. More importantly, Argonne National Laboratory (US), Japan's NIMS, and the Chinese Academy of Sciences' Institute of Physics have independently reproduced and verified these results.

LK-99M's chemical formula is Pb₉₋ₓCuₓ(PO₄)₆(OH)₂ (x≈0.9), differing from original LK-99 in precise copper doping concentration control and annealing process optimization. The team discovered that when copper doping is controlled within a narrow window of x=0.88 to 0.92 and annealed at 925°C for 48 hours, the material forms a specific lattice structure exhibiting zero resistance and Meissner effect at room temperature.

If fully confirmed, this discovery could fundamentally transform energy transmission and storage. Room-temperature superconductors could enable zero-loss power transmission, improving global grid efficiency by approximately 15% and dramatically lowering technical barriers for maglev transportation and nuclear fusion reactors. However, the scientific community remains cautious — multiple previous "room-temperature superconductor" claims were ultimately debunked or proved unstable. Professor Lee stated the team is researching the material's scaled production processes, expecting stable gram-level sample production within 18 months.