The quasi–1-dimensional bismuth bromide, α-Bi4Br4, has been predicted to be a rotational symmetry-protected topological crystalline insulator. The structural study under high pressure indicates that the α-Bi4Br4phase is stable up to 4.3 GPa. There is a rich phase diagram of physical properties under high pressure in the α-Bi4Br4phase (i.e., a pressure-induced insulator–metal transition and, most importantly, a superconductive phase near the boundary of the insulator–metal transition). These findings help to answer questions, such as whether it is possible for the symmetry-protected electrons to form Cooper pairs. The α-Bi4Br4undergoes a pressure-induced structural transition above 4.3 GPa to a triclinic
Ferroelectricity is typically suppressed under hydrostatic compression because the short-range repulsions, which favor the nonpolar phase, increase more rapidly than the long-range interactions, which prefer the ferroelectric phase. Here, based on single-crystal X-ray diffraction and density-functional theory, we provide evidence of a ferroelectric-like transition from phase
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10216586
- Publisher / Repository:
- Nature Publishing Group
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Nature Communications
- Volume:
- 12
- Issue:
- 1
- ISSN:
- 2041-1723
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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