Signatures of Sixfold Degenerate Exotic Fermions in a Superconducting Metal PdSb2

All topological bands of all nonmagnetic stoichiometric materials

Topological quantum chemistry and symmetry-based indicators have facilitated large-scale searches for materials with topological properties at the Fermi energy (E_F). We report the implementation of a publicly accessible catalog of stable and fragile topology in all of the bands both at and away from E_F in the 96,196 processable entries in the Inorganic Crystal Structure Database. Our calculations, which represent the completion of the symmetry-indicated band topology of known nonmagnetic materials, have enabled the discovery of repeat-topological and supertopological materials, including rhombohedral bismuth and Bi₂Mg₃. We find that 52.65% of all materials are topological at E_F, roughly two-thirds of bands across all materials exhibit symmetry-indicated stable topology, and 87.99% of all materials contain at least one stable or fragile topological band.

An ideal Weyl nodal ring with a large drumhead surface state in the orthorhombic compound TiS2

Topological metals or semimetals have attracted great research attention and interest in condensed matter physics and chemistry due to their exotic properties. Different from the conventional topological insulators, topological metals or semimetals are characterized by distinct topological surface states, such as a Fermi arc or a drumhead surface state, which are often used in experiments to verify the corresponding topological properties. However, the current study in this field is strongly limited in the experimental characterization because of the extreme lack of perfect material candidates with a clean band structure and clear surface states. In this work, based on theoretical calculations, we propose a new topological semimetal TiS₂, which has an orthorhombic structure and exhibits excellent stability. Calculated electronic band structures reveal that there is a single Weyl nodal ring in the k_y = 0 plane. A detailed symmetry analysis is provided and the corresponding surface state is calculated, which exhibits both a large energy variation of 1.5 eV and wide space distribution without and with the spin orbit coupling effect. Besides, the surface states are well separated from the bulk state. These ideal features together make TiS₂ a promising nodal line semimetal for experimental investigation. In combination with the other two isostructural compounds TiSe₂ and TiTe₂ with similar properties, their further experimental synthesis and characterization can be highly expected and the corresponding study for the topological nodal line state can thus be greatly facilitated.

Topological Quantum Materials from the Viewpoint of Chemistry

Topology, a mathematical concept, has recently become a popular and truly transdisciplinary topic encompassing condensed matter physics, solid state chemistry, and materials science. Since there is a direct connection between real space, namely atoms, valence electrons, bonds, and orbitals, and reciprocal space, namely bands and Fermi surfaces, via symmetry and topology, classifying topological materials within a single-particle picture is possible. Currently, most materials are classified as trivial insulators, semimetals, and metals or as topological insulators, Dirac and Weyl nodal-line semimetals, and topological metals. The key ingredients for topology are certain symmetries, the inert pair effect of the outer electrons leading to inversion of the conduction and valence bands, and spin-orbit coupling. This review presents the topological concepts related to solids from the viewpoint of a solid-state chemist, summarizes techniques for growing single crystals, and describes basic physical property measurement techniques to characterize topological materials beyond their structure and provide examples of such materials. Finally, a brief outlook on the impact of topology in other areas of chemistry is provided at the end of the article.

The Tetragonal Monoxide of Platinum: A New Platform for Investigating Nodal-Line and Nodal-Point Semimetallic Behavior

The search for new topological materials that are realistic to synthesize has attracted increasing attention. In this study, we systematically investigated the electronic, mechanical, and topological semimetallic properties, as well as the interesting surface states, of the tetragonal monoxide of platinum, which is realistic to synthesize, via a first-principles approach. Our calculated results indicate that PtO is a novel topological semimetal with double nodal lines in the k z = 0 plane and a pair of triple topological nodal points along the A'-M-A directions. Obvious surface states, including Fermi arc and drum-head-like surfaces, could be found around nodal points and nodal lines. The dynamic and mechanical stabilities of P4 2 /mmc-type PtO were examined in detail via calculation of the phonon dispersion and determination of elastic constants, respectively. Some other mechanical properties, including the bulk modulus, Young's modulus, shear modulus, Poisson's ratio, and Pugh's index, were considered in this study. P4 2 /mmc-type PtO provides a good research platform for investigation of novel behaviors that combine mechanical properties and rich topological elements.