We
report pressure-induced superconductivity in a ternary and nonmagnetic
Cu-containing semiconductor, Cu2Br2Se6, with a wide band gap of 1.89 eV, in which the Cu and Br atoms generate
infinite 21 helical chains along the c-axis and are linked by the cyclohexane-like Se6 rings
to form a three-dimensional framework. We find that this framework
is remarkably robust under compression, and the ambient-pressure phase
survives at least to our experimental limit of 32.1 GPa. Concurrent
semiconductor-to-metal transition and superconductivity are observed
above 21.0 GPa. The superconducting temperature monotonically increases
from 4.0 to 6.7 K at 40.0 GPa. First-principles calculations show
that the emergence of superconductivity is associated with the formation
of weak multicentered bonds that involve the increase in coordination
of the Cu atoms and a subset of the Se atoms. The observation of superconductivity
in this type of nonmagnetic transition-metal-based material will inspire
the exploration of related new superconductors under pressure.
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