Effect of pressure on crystal structure and superconductivity of NbSexTe2−x (x = 2, 1.5)

[Display omitted] •Pressure effect on superconductivity of Nb-Se-Te alloys.•High pressure crystal structure and equation of state.•Anistropic compressibility with pressure. The high pressure structural and transport behaviors of transition metal dichalchogenides NbSexTe2−x (x = 2, 1.5) were investigated using powder X-ray diffraction and resistivity measurements. The structural results show all these title compounds remain stable under application of pressure up to 39 GPa. The lattice compressibilites were determined and show highly anisotropic behavior. A change in superconducting transition temperature dependent on composition was observed. The resistivity measurements performed under pressure for NbSe1.5Te0.5 revealed strong enhancement in transition temperature with Tc increasing from 3.35 K at ambient, to 4.4 K at 1.8 GPa, at a rate of 0.6 K/GPa.