Crystal Structure and Chemistry of Topological Insulators

TL;DR

This paper reviews the chemistry, crystal structures, and defect chemistry of topological insulators, emphasizing the chemical factors like symmetry and spin-orbit coupling that enable their unique surface states.

Contribution

It provides a chemical perspective on topological insulators, linking their electronic properties to their crystal chemistry and structural features.

Findings

Topological surface states are enabled by crystal symmetry and spin-orbit coupling.

Chemical factors influence the emergence of topological states.

The review connects chemistry with the physics of topological insulators.

Abstract

Topological surface states, a new kind of electronic state of matter, have recently been observed on the cleaved surfaces of crystals of a handful of small band gap semiconductors. The underlying chemical factors that enable these states are crystal symmetry, the presence of strong spin orbit coupling, and an inversion of the energies of the bulk electronic states that normally contribute to the valence and conduction bands. The goals of this review are to briefly introduce the physics of topological insulators to a chemical audience and to describe the chemistry, defect chemistry, and crystal structures of the compounds in this emergent field.