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Abstract:
The crystal structure, magnetic ordering, and electrical resistivity of TlFe1.6Se2 were studied at high pressures. Below similar to 7GPa, TlFe1.6Se2 is an antiferromagnetically ordered semiconductor with a ThCr2Si2-type structure. The insulator-to-metal transformation observed at a pressure of similar to 7GPa is accompanied by a loss of magnetic ordering and an isostructural phase transition. In the pressure range similar to 7.5-11 GPa a remarkable downturn in resistivity, which resembles a superconducting transition, is observed below 15 K. We discuss this feature as the possible onset of superconductivity originating from a phase separation in a small fraction of the sample in the vicinity of the magnetic transition.