High-pressure electrides: From design to synthesis

Electrides are unique ionic compounds that electrons serve as the anions. Many electrides with fascinating physical and chemical properties have been discovered at ambient condition. Under pressure, electrides are also revealed to be ubiquitous crystal morphology, enriching the geometrical topologies and electronic properties of electrides. In this Review, we overview the formation mechanism of high-pressure electrides (HPEs) and outline a scheme for exploring new HPEs from pre-design, CALYPSO assisted structural searches, indicators for electrides, to experimental synthesis. Moreover, the evolution of electronic dimensionality under compression is also discussed to better understand the dimensional distribution of anionic electrons in HPEs.