The number of reported metallic compounds with polar
crystal structures
is limited due to the incompatibility of the acentricity and metallicity.
Particularly, metallic oxides with polar crystal structures are rare.
In this work, we designed a single-layer Aurivillius oxide Bi2ReO6 to explore metallic polar oxides. Single crystals
and polycrystalline samples of Bi2ReO6 are synthesized
by high-pressure methods. Bi2ReO6 crystallizes
in the tetragonal structure with the polar space group P42
cm (No. 101). Bi2ReO6 consists of alternative stacking of (Bi2O2)2+ layers and perovskite-like [ReO4]2– layers. Theoretical calculations further support
that Bi2ReO6 with the polar space group is more
stable and the tilts of ReO6 octahedra stabilize the system
and break the inversion symmetry. Our magnetic and electrical data
and low-temperature specific heat data indicate that Bi2ReO6 is a Pauli metal. The calculated electronic structures
for Bi2ReO6 support the metallic nature, and
the density of states at the Fermi level is contributed mainly from
Re 5d orbitals hybridized with O 2p orbitals.