Pressure-Stabilized Tin Selenide Phase with an Unexpected Stoichiometry and a Predicted Superconducting State at Low Temperatures
Hulei Yu, Wenxin Lao, Lijuan Wang, Kuo Li, Yue Chen
DOI 10.1103/PhysRevLett.118.137002 · Physical Review Letters
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Abstract
Tin-selenium binary compounds are important semiconductors that have attracted much interest for thermoelectric and photovoltaic applications. As tin has a +2 or +4 oxidation state and selenium has an oxidation number of −2, only SnSe and SnSe2 have been observed. In this work, we show that the chemical bonding between tin and selenium becomes counterintuitive under pressures. Combining evolutionary algorithms and density functional theory, a novel cubic tin-selenium compound with an unexpected stoichiometry 3∶4 has been predicted and further synthesized in laser-heated diamond anvil cell experiments. Different from the conventional SnSe and SnSe2 semiconductors, Sn3Se4 is predicted to be metallic and exhibit a superconducting transition at low temperatures. Based on electron density and Bader charge analysis, we show that Sn3Se4 has a mixed nature of chemical bonds. The successful synthesis of Sn3Se4 paves the way for the discovery of other IV-VI compounds with nonconventional stoichiometries and novel properties.
Source-reported materials — not catalogue approval
| Formula | Reported Tc (K) | Pressure (GPa) | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| SnSe Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | 4.5 | 58 GPa | unknown |
| Sn3Se4 Archive — visibility unverified Source-occurrence policy only; no material identity or catalogue acceptance is inferred from the formula. | 4 | 10 GPa | unknown |
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