ArXiv · 2026
Twisted van der Waals bilayers provide a versatile platform for moiré electronic states, yet a transferable symmetry-based principle for time-reversal-invariant Z₂ moiré bands has remained largely missing. Here we show that triangular-lattice bilayers with symmetry-related stacking minima provide a geometric route to an emergent honeycomb moiré lattice. Band-edge states derived from the untwisted Γ valley are trapped by the reconstructed stacking landscape, forming A/B moiré orbitals whose inter-domain coupling generates Dirac crossings. Spin–orbit coupling opens a topological gap, yielding an effective Kane–Mele description and a quantum spin Hall phase characterized by a nontrivial Z₂ invariant. First-principles calculations for Janus BiTeBr confirm the robustness of this phase over a broad twist-angle range and demonstrate an electric-field-driven topological transition. Representative triangular-lattice bilayers further establish this symmetry-based design principle as a broadly applicable route to tunable moiré quantum spin Hall materials.
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