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In this work, we report the pressure-dependent electrical transport and structural properties of SnSe. In our experiments an electronic transition from a semiconducting to semimetallic state was observed at 12.6 GPa, followed by an orthorhombic to monoclinic structural transition. Hall effect measurements indicate that both the carrier concentration and mobility vary abnormally accompanied by the semimetallic electronic transition. First-principles band structure calculations confirm the semiconducting-semimetallic transition, and reveal that the semimetallic character of SnSe can be attributed to the enhanced coupling of Sn-5s, Sn-5p, and Se-3p orbitals under compression that results in the broadening of energy bands and subsequently the closure of the band gap. The pressure modulated variations of electrical transport and structural properties may provide an approach to improving the thermoelectric properties of SnSe.

High-pressure electrical transport properties of VO 2 have been investigated by in situ resistivity, Hall-effect, and temperature dependence of resistivity measurements. The electrical transport parameters including resistivity, Hall coefficient, carrier concentration, and mobility varies significantly around 10.4 GPa, which can be attributed to the isostructural phase transition of VO 2 . Temperature dependence of resistivity indicates that the phase transition is a semiconductor-to-semiconductor transformation, not the pressure-induced metallization as previously reported by Raman and IR experiment observations. The dramatic increase of activation energy at 10.4 GPa indicates an increasingly insulating behavior of VO 2 accompanied with the isostructural phase transition. The electrical transport properties, especially the carries transportation under compression open up a new possible basis for optimizing the performance of VO 2 based applications under ambient or extreme conditions.