Charge density wave instability and pressure-induced superconductivity in bulk 1T-Nb S2

Charge density wave (CDW) instability and pressure-induced superconductivity in bulk 1T-NbS2 are predicted theoretically by first-principles calculations. We reveal a CDW instability toward the formation of a stable commensurate CDW order, resulting in a 13×13 structural reconstruction featured with star-of-David clusters. The CDW phase exhibits one-dimensional metallic behavior with in-plane flatband characteristics and coexists with an orbital-density-wave order predominantly contributed by the 4dz2-r2 orbital from the inner Nb atoms of the star-of-David cluster. By doubling the cell of the commensurate CDW phase along the layer stacking direction, a metal-insulator transition may be realized in the CDW phase in cases where the interlayer antiferromagnetic ordering and Coulomb correlation effect have been considered simultaneously. Bare electron susceptibility, phonon linewidth, and electron-phonon coupling calculations suggest that the CDW instability is driven by softened phonon modes due to the strong electron-phonon coupling interactions. CDW order can be suppressed by pressure, concomitant with the appearance of the superconductivity. Our theoretical predictions call for experimental investigations to further clarify the transport and magnetic properties of 1T-NbS2. Furthermore, it would also be very interesting to explore the possibility to realize the CDW order coexisting with the superconductivity in bulk 1T-NbS2.