Crystal structure, properties and nanostructuring of a new layered chalcogenide semiconductor, Bi2MnTe4

A new layered chalcogenide semiconductor, Bi2MnTe4, was discovered. It was prepared by melting and annealing methods and its crystal structure was determined by powder X-ray diffraction and Rietveld refinement. It showed p-type conducting behavior at room temperature and it was quite consistent with our density functional theory calculations. Furthermore, based on the metastability of Bi2MnTe4, a nanostructuring strategy was attempted to fabricate nanostructured bulk composites. Nanostructured Bi2Te3/MnTe2 composite was successfully achieved in this work, and its thermoelectric properties were discussed.