The pha
se equilibrium diagram of the SnSe–Bi<
sub>2
sub>Se<
sub>3
sub>
sy
stem ha
s been re-inve
stigated u
sing X-ray powder diffraction, thermal analy
si
s (DTA and DSC) and <
sup>119
sup>Sn M
xf6;
ssbauer
spectro
scopy data. It
show
s solid
solution
s ba
sed on Bi<
sub>2
sub>Se<
sub>3
sub> and SnSe (
src="http://www.
sciencedirect.com/
scidirimg/entitie
s/204e.gif" alt="gree
k small letter alpha" title="gree
k small letter alpha" border="0"> and β form
s) and three intermediate pha
se
s: well-defined, SnBi<
sub>4
sub>Se<
sub>7
sub>, SnBi<
sub>4
sub>Se<
sub>7
sub>, and a new pha
se Sn<
sub>2
sub>Bi<
sub>2
sub>Se<
sub>5
sub>. The new pha
se Sn<
sub>2
sub>Bi<
sub>2
sub>Se<
sub>5
sub> exi
st
s in the compo
sition range 25–55 mol%Bi<
sub>2
sub>Se<
sub>3
sub>. It
s structure i
s still under
study. However, <
sup>119
sup>Sn M
xf6;
ssbauer
spectro
scopy
study of the latter allowed to achieve a well
knowledge of the local environment of tin atom
s and could contribute to the actual
structural
study.