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Atomic-Scale Visualization of Thermally Driven Hidden Symmetry Evolution in Layered Bi-Se-Te Compounds
Xiaobin Zou1, Lishan Liang1, Zihao Huang1
1School of Materials Science and Engineering, State Key Laboratory of Optoelectronic Materials and Technologies, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou510275, China.
Abstract:
Layered bismuth chalcogenides Bi2Se3-xTex are versatile platforms for topological quantum phenomena and advanced thermoelectric applications, yet the precise correlation between Se-Te solute chemical inhomogeneity and macroscopic transport remains unclear. Herein, we directly visualize temperature-driven atomic rearrangement in Bi2Se2.25Te0.75 nanosheets. As the growth temperature increases, Te atoms progressively redistribute from centrosymmetric mixing at two outer sites (Se/Te-Bi-Se-Bi-Se/Te) to noncentrosymmetric single-side segregation (Se-Bi-Se-Bi-Se/Te) inside quintuple layers, while the central layer remains mostly occupied by Se atoms. This evolution modulates electron-phonon coupling via intrinsic polarization fields and alters carrier mobility. Linear magnetoresistance is observed in this system, resulted from Se-Te solute inhomogeneity induced mobility fluctuations within the Parish-Littlewood model. Angle-dependent magnetoresistance confirms the preservation of significant two-dimensional transport in both configurations. Our findings establish that atomic-scale chemical inhomogeneity is a tunable structural degree of freedom and offer a potential strategy for engineering transport properties in layered bismuth chalcogenides.
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