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.