Nanostructures of type-II topological Dirac semimetal NiTe2

Abstract

Many transition metal dichalcogenides have been predicted and verified experimentally to exhibit topological semimetallic behavior due to symmetry breaking. NiTe2 is predicted to belong to an interesting class of materials: type-II topological semimetal. Here, we report the growth, structural, and magnetic properties of polycrystalline NiTe2 nanostructures synthesized using a two-step solvothermal technique. Nanostructures of NiTe2 crystalize in a hexagonal CdI2-type structure (space group P3¯m1) with lattice parameters a = b = 3.85 Å and c = 5.26 Å. NiTe2 nanostructures exhibit paramagnetic behavior at room temperature and display a large increase in magnetization below 30 K. These results will certainly pave the way to fully understand one- and two-dimensional NiTe2 for topological behavior that can be useful for novel device applications.