On the electronic properties of the quasi-one-dimensional crystal Nb4Te17I4

We studied the newly synthesized quasi-one-dimensional compound Nb4Te17I4. Resistivity measurements confirmed its pseudo-one-dimensional character and photoemission spectroscopy clarified the nature of its valence band states. This polytelluride is a narrow-gap semiconductor at room temperature, with a forbidden gap width of 0.34 eV.