text: Bismuth subhalides, such as BiBr and β-BiI, have been recently reported as topological insulators. Topological insulators have caught attention of physical inorganic chemists as well as condensed matter physicists due to the unique physicochemical properties emerging upon transition from bulk to surface states. Exhibiting an energy band gap of classic insulator, the edge/surface states of the material acquire dissipationless electric transport. The subject has been investigated by condensed matter physicists as well as mathematicians to provide a link between the experimental emerging properties and the modeled topology. Broadly, the materials physics pertains to the Quantum Hall effect relying upon two pillars: time-reversal symmetry and spin orbit coupling, the latter dependent on the elemental material composition. Bismuths heavy pnictogen nature yields a large spin-orbit coupling. Additionally, when bound to heavy halogens, bismuth subhalides give rise to a low-dimensional van der Waals bonded structure, exfoliatable into nanowires.