Metal Material Combines Metallic Conductivity With Optical Properties

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An international research team led by the University of Bayreuth (Germany) has discovered a metal that combines electrical conductivity with inner polarity. An optical effect that normally occurs exclusively in non-metals and is particularly of interest for sensor technology and electrical engineering.

Materials that can simultaneously conduct electricity and influence light are of great interest for many modern technologies. For example, they can help develop faster and more energy-efficient computer chips, more precise sensors for medical devices, or new components for communication using light instead of electricity. The research into such substances shows how even simple elements like magnesium and chlorine can combine under extreme conditions to form entirely new materials—with properties previously thought impossible, but which could be used in advanced photonics, quantum devices, or energy technologies in the future.

It is very exciting that we have discovered a metal that not only conducts electricity but also emits light in an unexpected way.

Dr. Yuqing Yin

The compound magnesium chloride (Mg3Cl7) defies the usual rules for metals according to new findings by an international team led by the University of Bayreuth: Ordinary metals conduct electricity through an "electron cloud" of free electrons that surround the metal atoms. In contrast, the conductivity in magnesium chloride occurs via electrons provided by the chloride ions. This unique conductivity weakens the electrical shielding in the metal and enables the compound to maintain a permanent internal charge separation, known as polarity. However, this polar metal not only conducts electricity: when exposed to light, magnesium chloride emits the light at double the frequency. Such a combination of electrical conductivity, polarity, and optical frequency doubling is not only rare but also highly valuable for electronics, sensor technology, and energy applications.

New Approaches for Chemistry And Material Design

"It is very exciting that we have discovered a metal that not only conducts electricity but also emits light in unexpected ways," says Dr. Yuqing Yin, a researcher in the group for Material Physics and Technology under Extreme Conditions at the University of Bayreuth and first author of the study. "Such a combination is extremely rare in nature and opens up entirely new perspectives for the development of multifunctional materials."

The principles we have discovered reveal new approaches for chemistry and material design. Our work shows that even very simple elements like magnesium and chlorine can form completely unexpected structures with unique properties under the right conditions.

Prof. Dr. Leonid Dubrovinsky

The discovery was made under high pressure in a diamond anvil cell—an instrument capable of generating pressures similar to those found deep inside planets. Using intense synchrotron X-rays, the team was able to directly determine the crystal structure of magnesium chloride, as the material exists only under extreme conditions. Although the material cannot yet be produced in industrial quantities, the discovery opens the door to a new class of materials that combine metallic conductivity with valuable optical properties.

"We are only at the beginning," emphasizes Prof. Dr. Leonid Dubrovinsky from the Bavarian Geoinstitute (BGI) at the University of Bayreuth and senior author of the publication. "The principles we have discovered reveal new approaches to chemistry and material design. Our work shows that even very simple elements like magnesium and chlorine can form completely unexpected structures with unique properties under the right conditions."

The study highlights how high-pressure research continues to reveal surprising behaviors of seemingly ordinary elements and compounds. By pushing materials beyond the limits of everyday chemistry, scientists are discovering new rules—and new possibilities—for designing functional materials of the future.

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