High-pressure studies of topological insulators Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and Sb2Te3

Bi2Se3, Bi2Te3, and Sb2Te3 are narrow bandgap semiconductors with tetradymite crystal structure (R-3m) which have been extensively studied along with their alloys due to their promising operation as thermoelectric materials in the temperature range between 300 and 500 K. Studies on these layered semiconductors have increased tremendously in the last years since they have been recently predicted and demonstrated to behave as 3D topological insulators. In particular, a number of high-pressure studies have been done in the recent years in these materials. In this work we summarize the main results of the high-pressure studies performed in this family of semiconductors to date. In particular, we review recent results that address the main characteristics of the pressure-induced electronic topological transition and structural phase transitions observed in this family of compounds. Future high-pressure studies to be performed on these 3D topological insulators are also commented. (C) 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim