Study on superconductivity in complex electronic systems is an active project in the China's newly established high-pressure research center. Here we overview the progress in the past two years in the search and discovery of superconductivity in materials with highly efficient thermoelectric performance and topological order. We also present experimental results for the new understanding of the interplay of superconductivity and competing electronic phases in cuprates, iron-based superconductors, and transition-metal dichalcogenides. We show how pressure is used to identify the essential interactions that give rise to high Tc superconductivity. Experimental clues are provided for enhancing Tc based on the route to synthesize superconductors with such higher Tc's at ambient conditions.

Xiao-Jia Chen is currently a staff scientist of Center for High-Pressure Science and Technology Advanced Research in Shanghai. He earned his Ph. D from Zhejiang University in 1997 and has expertise in the experimental and theoretical study of superconductivity, magnetism, and hydrogen-bearing materials at high pressures. He served as a leader of superconductivity program of U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Frontier Research in Extreme Environments Center during 2009-2014 before moving to China, where his research led to the discovery of the enhanced superconductivity at higher pressure in both cuprates and iron-based superconductors. His current research focuses on the discovery of new superconductors and the improvement of the performance of known superconductors by understanding the fundamental physics of superconductivity. He has published over 100 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals including Nature and Physical Review Letters and Physical Review B.