Phonon Signatures of Near-Room-Temperature Phase Transition in Quasi-One-Dimensional Bi4I4 Topological van der Waals Material

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Main Authors: Puthenveettil, Nidhish Thiruthukkal, Debnath, Topojit, Mantz, Clayton, Nataj, Zahra Ebrahim, Teeter, Jordan, Hossain, Md. Shafayat, Kargar, Fariborz, Salguero, Tina T., Lake, Roger K., Balandin, Alexander A.
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
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author Puthenveettil, Nidhish Thiruthukkal
Debnath, Topojit
Mantz, Clayton
Nataj, Zahra Ebrahim
Teeter, Jordan
Hossain, Md. Shafayat
Kargar, Fariborz
Salguero, Tina T.
Lake, Roger K.
Balandin, Alexander A.
author_facet Puthenveettil, Nidhish Thiruthukkal
Debnath, Topojit
Mantz, Clayton
Nataj, Zahra Ebrahim
Teeter, Jordan
Hossain, Md. Shafayat
Kargar, Fariborz
Salguero, Tina T.
Lake, Roger K.
Balandin, Alexander A.
contents The quasi-one-dimensional material Bi4I4 hosts two crystallographically similar polymorphs that realize distinct topological insulating phases separated by a first-order structural transition near room temperature. This transition occurs without a change in space group, arising instead from a subtle rearrangement of chain stacking registry. Polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy directly resolves this structural-topological phase transition through abrupt, hysteretic modifications of the phonon spectrum. Angle-dependent measurements establish the symmetry of the dominant Raman-active modes and require a complex Raman tensor formalism to account for absorption-induced phase effects. Across the transition, selected phonon modes exhibit discontinuous, reversible shifts in frequency, linewidth, and relative intensity despite the absence of a space-group change. Density functional theory calculations reproduce the direction of the observed phonon renormalizations and confirm their sensitivity to stacking-dependent force constants. These results demonstrate that polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy can detect subtle stacking-driven structural rearrangements that underlie topological band character, even when global crystallographic symmetry remains unchanged. The obtained results provide valuable insights into the interplay among lattice dynamics, structural distortions, and topological properties in this class of low-dimensional materials, with strong potential for unique functionalities.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2603_29189
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Phonon Signatures of Near-Room-Temperature Phase Transition in Quasi-One-Dimensional Bi4I4 Topological van der Waals Material
Puthenveettil, Nidhish Thiruthukkal
Debnath, Topojit
Mantz, Clayton
Nataj, Zahra Ebrahim
Teeter, Jordan
Hossain, Md. Shafayat
Kargar, Fariborz
Salguero, Tina T.
Lake, Roger K.
Balandin, Alexander A.
Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
The quasi-one-dimensional material Bi4I4 hosts two crystallographically similar polymorphs that realize distinct topological insulating phases separated by a first-order structural transition near room temperature. This transition occurs without a change in space group, arising instead from a subtle rearrangement of chain stacking registry. Polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy directly resolves this structural-topological phase transition through abrupt, hysteretic modifications of the phonon spectrum. Angle-dependent measurements establish the symmetry of the dominant Raman-active modes and require a complex Raman tensor formalism to account for absorption-induced phase effects. Across the transition, selected phonon modes exhibit discontinuous, reversible shifts in frequency, linewidth, and relative intensity despite the absence of a space-group change. Density functional theory calculations reproduce the direction of the observed phonon renormalizations and confirm their sensitivity to stacking-dependent force constants. These results demonstrate that polarization-resolved Raman spectroscopy can detect subtle stacking-driven structural rearrangements that underlie topological band character, even when global crystallographic symmetry remains unchanged. The obtained results provide valuable insights into the interplay among lattice dynamics, structural distortions, and topological properties in this class of low-dimensional materials, with strong potential for unique functionalities.
title Phonon Signatures of Near-Room-Temperature Phase Transition in Quasi-One-Dimensional Bi4I4 Topological van der Waals Material
topic Materials Science
Mesoscale and Nanoscale Physics
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2603.29189