In "First-principles study on the electronic structure of Pb₁₀₋ₓCuₓ(PO₄)₆O (x=0, 1)"[^0] the authors explore the question of whether lead apatite combined with various dopants, like Ni, Cu, Zn, Ag, and Au, can exhibit desirable electrical properties such as superconductivity. They show that Au, Ag, and Cu have similar effects on the Fermi-level band gap, and that this appears critical to the interesting electrical properties described by The First Room-Temperature Ambient-Pressure Superconductor"[^1] and "Superconductor Pb₁₀₋ₓCuₓ(PO₄)₆O showing levitation at room temperature and atmospheric pressure and mechanism"[^2].
As part of the conclusion, the authors offer us this tantalizing speculation: "These results suggest that Au-doped lead-apatite may also exhibit similar superconducting properties as the Cu-doped one."
The question is: Will gold-doped lead-apatite be proven to be a room-temperature ambient-pressure practical superconductor by 2025?
A note on definitions:
"room temperature" (above 0C)
"ambient pressure" (below 1 megapascal, i.e. less than 10 atmospheres)
"practical superconductor" means that it may deviate from the classical definition of a superconductor if it still exhibits the zero-resistance property over a 5cm wire or matrix, even if it e.g. does not have a classical expression of the Meißner–Ochsenfeld effect or flux pinning
[^0]: https://arxiv.org/abs/2307.16040
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