zirconium vanadium hydride atomic structure

Illustration of a zirconium vanadium hydride atomic structure at near ambient conditions as determined using neutron vibrational spectroscopy and the Titan supercomputer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory. The lattice is comprised of vanadium atoms (in gold) and zirconium atoms (in white) enclosing hydrogen atoms (in red). Three hydrogen atoms are shown interacting at surprisingly small hydrogen-hydrogen atomic distances, as short as 1.6 angstroms. These smaller spacings between the atoms might allow packing significantly more hydrogen into the material to a point where it begins to superconduct. Photo: Jill Hemman/Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Dept. of Energy