H. F. Yang

Weyl Semimetals as Hydrogen Evolution Catalysts

The search for highly efficient and low-cost catalysts is one of the main driving forces in catalytic chemistry. Current strategies for the catalyst design focus on increasing the number and activity of local catalytic sites, such as the edge sites of molybdenum disulfides in the hydrogen evolution reaction (HER). Here, the study proposes and demonstrates a different principle that goes beyond local site optimization by utilizing topological electronic states to spur catalytic activity. For HER, excellent catalysts have been found among the transition-metal monopnictides-NbP, TaP, NbAs, and TaAs-which are recently discovered to be topological Weyl semimetals. Here the study shows that the combination of robust topological surface states and large room temperature carrier mobility, both of which originate from bulk Dirac bands of the Weyl semimetal, is a recipe for high activity HER catalysts. This approach has the potential to go beyond graphene based composite photocatalysts where graphene simply provides a high mobility medium without any active catalytic sites that have been found in these topological materials. Thus, the work provides a guiding principle for the discovery of novel catalysts from the emerging field of topological materials.

Signature of type-II Weyl semimetal phase in MoTe2

Topological Weyl semimetal (TWS), a new state of quantum matter, has sparked enormous research interest recently. Possessing unique Weyl fermions in the bulk and Fermi arcs on the surface, TWSs offer a rare platform for realizing many exotic physical phenomena. TWSs can be classified into type-I that respect Lorentz symmetry and type-II that do not. Here, we directly visualize the electronic structure of MoTe2, a recently proposed type-II TWS. Using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we unravel the unique surface Fermi arcs, in good agreement with our ab initio calculations that have nontrivial topological nature. Our work not only leads to new understandings of the unusual properties discovered in this family of compounds, but also allows for the further exploration of exotic properties and practical applications of type-II TWSs, as well as the interplay between superconductivity (MoTe2 was discovered to be superconducting recently) and their topological order.

Evolution of the Fermi surface of Weyl semimetals in the transition metal pnictide family

Topological Weyl semimetals (TWSs) represent a novel state of topological quantum matter which not only possesses Weyl fermions (massless chiral particles that can be viewed as magnetic monopoles in momentum space) in the bulk and unique Fermi arcs generated by topological surface states, but also exhibits appealing physical properties such as extremely large magnetoresistance and ultra-high carrier mobility. Here, by performing angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES) on NbP and TaP, we directly observed their band structures with characteristic Fermi arcs of TWSs. Furthermore, by systematically investigating NbP, TaP and TaAs from the same transition metal monopnictide family, we discovered their Fermiology evolution with spin-orbit coupling (SOC) strength. Our experimental findings not only reveal the mechanism to realize and fine-tune the electronic structures of TWSs, but also provide a rich material base for exploring many exotic physical phenomena (for example, chiral magnetic effects, negative magnetoresistance, and the quantum anomalous Hall effect) and novel future applications.

Topological Weyl semimetals in the chiral antiferromagnetic materials Mn3Ge and Mn3Sn

Recent experiments revealed that Mn3Sn and Mn3Ge exhibit a strong anomalous Hall effect at room temperature, provoking us to explore their electronic structures for topological properties. By ab. initio band structure calculations, we have observed the existence of multiple Weyl points in the bulk and corresponding Fermi arcs on the surface, predicting antiferromagnetic Weyl semimetals in Mn3Ge and Mn3Sn. Here the chiral antiferromagnetism in the Kagome-type lattice structure is essential to determine the positions and numbers of Weyl points. Our work further reveals a new guiding principle to search for magnetic Weyl semimetals among materials that exhibit a strong anomalous Hall effect.

Dirac line nodes and effect of spin-orbit coupling in the nonsymmorphic critical semimetals MSiS (M = Hf, Zr)

Topological Dirac semimetals (TDSs) represent a new state of quantum matter recently discovered that offers a platform for realizing many exotic physical phenomena. A TDS is characterized by the linear touching of bulk (conduction and valance) bands at discrete points in the momentum space [i.e., three-dimensional (3D) Dirac points], such as in Na3Bi and Cd3As2. More recently, new types of Dirac semimetals with robust Dirac line nodes (with nontrivial topology or near the critical point between topological phase transitions) have been proposed that extend the bulk linear touching from discrete points to one-dimensional (1D) lines. In this paper, using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy (ARPES), we explored the electronic structure of the nonsymmorphic crystals MSiS (M = Hf, Zr). Remarkably, by mapping out the band structure in the full 3D Brillouin zone (BZ), we observed two sets of Dirac line-nodes in parallel with the k(z) axis and their dispersions. Interestingly, along directions other than the line nodes in the 3D BZ, the bulk degeneracy is lifted by spin-orbit coupling (SOC) in both compounds with larger magnitude in HfSiS. Our paper not only experimentally confirms a new Dirac line-node semimetal family protected by nonsymmorphic symmetry but also helps understanding and further exploring the exotic properties, as well as practical applications of the MSiS family of compounds.

Strong anisotropic anomalous Hall effect and spin Hall effect in the chiral antiferromagnetic compounds Mn3X (X = Ge, Sn, Ga, Ir, Rh, and Pt)

We have carried out a comprehensive study of the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect and spin Hall effect of several chiral antiferromagnetic compounds

Symmetry demanded topological nodal-line materials

{\mathrm{Mn}}_{3}X

Photochemical water splitting by bismuth chalcogenide topological insulators

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Weyl semimetal phase in the non-centrosymmetric compound TaAs

X

Prediction of Triple Point Fermions in Simple Half-Heusler Topological Insulators

= Ge, Sn, Ga, Ir, Rh and Pt) by ab initio band structure and Berry phase calculations. These studies reveal large and anisotropic values of both the intrinsic anomalous Hall effect and spin Hall effect. The