Electronic Band Structure of Rhenium Dichalcogenides

The band structures of bulk transition metal dichalcogenides ReS2 and ReSe2 are presented, showing the complicated nature of interband transitions in these materials, with several close-lying band gaps. Three-dimensional plots of constant energy surfaces in the Brillouin zone at energies near the band extrema are used to show that the valence band maximum and conduction band minimum may not be located at special high symmetry points. We find that both materials are indirect gap materials and that one must be careful to consider the whole Brillouin zone volume in addressing this question.