LK-99 claims by Korean scientists shot down by global peers

The claim by a group of Korean scientists around the development of the world’s first room-temperature superconductor is being refuted by international research teams, as the stock market continues to fluctuate after a chaotic spree.

An image of LK-99, a compound that a group of Korean researchers claim has superconductivity, provided by Kim Hyun-tak, one of the co-authors of the study. [SCREEN CAPTURE]

The claim by a group of Korean scientists around the development of the world’s first room-temperature superconductoris being refuted by international research teams, as the stock market continues to fluctuate after a chaotic spree.

Multiple institutes, including the Condensed Matter Theory Center (CMTC) of the University of Maryland, have come forward to repudiate the six-member Korean team's claims that a compound of lead, copper, phosphorus and oxygen, dubbed LK-99, exhibits superconductivity at room temperatures and ambient atmospheric pressures.

The CMTC said in a social media post on Tuesday that “with a great deal of sadness, we now believe that the game is over,” concluding that “LK-99 is not a superconductor, not even at room temperatures (or at very low temperatures).”

Joint research posted on Tuesday by German, Spanish and U.S. institutes including the Schoop Lab of Princeton University also found that “our synthesis and subsequent analysis of an LK-99 sample reveals a multiphase material that does not exhibit high-temperature superconductivity.”

The Korean Society of Superconductivity and Cryogenics (KSSC) also launched a research team to verify the superconductivity claims, saying that “based on the studies and footage, the material appearing in the research and the footage cannot be considered as a room-temperature, ambient-pressure superconductor.”

Meanwhile, a researcher from the Korea Institute of Energy Technology (Kentech) confirmed that the crystal structure of LK-99 is in line with what has been suggested in manuscripts put forward by the Korean scientists, according to local media reports.

Kentech is the only research institute that has been provided with the original sample of LK-99 from Quantum Energy Research Centre, the Seoul-based corporation behind the superconductivity claims. Other research teams have recreated LK-99 with recipes suggested in the papers posted on pre-print site arXiv.

However, Kentech’s latest confirmation does not prove the sample’s proposed superconductivity.

The final result of the scientific evaluation is expected to be finalized by the end of the year.

Kosdaq-listed Shinsung Delta Tech saw its share price close at 26,600 won on Wednesday, up 14.66 percent from the previous day. The share price of Shinsung Delta Tech reached its peak at 32,200 won on Tuesday mid-trading, before closing at 23,200 won, compared to its closing price of 13,800 won on July 28.

Shinsung Delta Tech is considered to be a superconductor-themed stock along with Power Logics as the companies have invested in a venture company that holds a stake in Quantum Energy Research Centre.

Power Logics' share price dropped 16.49 percent on Tuesday, before rebounding by 4.72 percent on Wednesday to close at 8,430 won.

BY SHIN HA-NEE [shin.hanee@joongang.co.kr]