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Thermoelectric Nanomaterials pp 123–139Cite as

Topological Insulators

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Part of the book series: Springer Series in Materials Science ((SSMATERIALS,volume 182))

Abstract

The recent discovery of a new class of materials, the so-called topological insulators [1–5]. has generated a great interest in the fields of condensed matter physics and materials science [1]. In principle, according to their band structure, compounds can be divided into metals and insulators. Recently a new class of the so-called topological states has emerged, the Quantum Spin Hall (QSH) state in two and three dimensions. The respective materials are called "topological insulators". The 3D topological insulators have a full insulating gap in the bulk, but a topological protected gapless surface or edge states on the boundary [6–8]. Additionally the 2D topological insulators (e.g. HgTe [9, 10], are metallic in the bulk, but can be designed as topological insulators in quantum well structures with a trivial semiconductors such as CdTe. A topological insulator can easily be identified by a few simple rules: the presents of a large spin orbit coupling, an odd number of band inversions between the conduction and the valence band by increasing the average nuclear charge, and a sign change of the symmetry of the molecular orbitals [11]. Similiar features are favorable for thermoelectric properties, thus topological insulators may be good thermoelectric materials and vice versa. Here we present a short introduction to topological insulators and give examples of compound classes where both topological insulators and good thermoelectric properties can be found.

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Notes

  1. 1.

    Due to the effects from the Darwin term, the Bi 6s valence electrons will not participate in any bonding, making Bi trivalent.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Johannes Gutenberg-Universitaet Mainz, Staudinger Weg 9, 55128 , Mainz, Germany

    Lukas Müchler, Frederick Casper & Stanislav Chadov

  2. Max-Planck-Institut fuer Chemische Physik fester Stoffe, Noethnitzer Str. 40, 01187 , Dresden, Germany

    Binghai Yan & Claudia Felser

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  1. Lukas Müchler
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  2. Binghai Yan
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  3. Frederick Casper
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  4. Stanislav Chadov
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Correspondence to Claudia Felser .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan

    Kunihito Koumoto

  2. National Institute for Materials Science, Tsukuba, Japan

    Takao Mori

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Müchler, L., Yan, B., Casper, F., Chadov, S., Felser, C. (2013). Topological Insulators. In: Koumoto, K., Mori, T. (eds) Thermoelectric Nanomaterials. Springer Series in Materials Science, vol 182. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-37537-8_6

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