Abstract
Selected members of the A₂B₃ (A = Sb, Bi; B = Se, Te) family are topological insulators. The Sb₂Se₃ compound does not exhibit any topological properties at ambient conditions; a recent high-pressure study, however, indicated that pressure transforms Sb₂Se₃ from a band insulator into a topological insulator above ~2 GPa; in addition, three structural transitions were proposed to occur up to 25 GPa. Partly motivated by these results, we have performed x-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy investigations on Sb₂Se₃ under pressure up to 65 GPa. We have identified only one reversible structural transition: the initial Pnma structure transforms into a disordered cubic bcc alloy above 51 GPa. On the other hand, our high-pressure Raman study did not reproduce the previous results; we attribute the discrepancies to the effects of the different pressure transmitting media used in the high-pressure experiments. We discuss the structural behavior of Sb₂Se₃ within the A₂B₃ (A = Sb, Bi; B = Se, Te) series.