[摘要]:We report results of investigation of electrical and thermoelectric properties of Sn2P2S6 under strong compression up to 20 GPa. An "insulator-metal"(I-M)-type transition was discovered by a monotonic and reversible lowering of electrical resistivity by 9-10 orders. The energy gap (E-g = 2.3 eV) was estimated to decrease to similar to 0.25-0.3 eV at 20 GPa. X-ray diffraction and Raman studies on samples recovered from the high pressure experiments confirm a conservation of the original monoclinic lattice. Thus, a colossal "band-gap engineering" potential is revealed in this optical material. Sn2P2S6 is a potential candidate for emergent multi-functional switches, between transparent "insulator" state and conducting state with magneto-dependent properties. (C) 2011 American Institute of Physics. [doi:10.1063/1.3662926]