  Combining graphene with other novel layered materials is a possible way for
engineering the band structure of charge carriers. Strong spin-orbit coupling
in BiTeX compounds and the recent fabrication of a single layer of BiTeI points
towards a feasible experimental realization of a Kane--Mele phase in
graphene-based heterostructures. Here, we theoretically demonstrate the
tunability of the topological phase of hybrid systems built from graphene and
BiTeX (X = I, Br, Cl) layers by uniaxial in-plane tensile and out-of plane
compressive strain. We show that structural stress inherently present in
fabricated samples could induce a topological phase transition, thus turning
the sample in a novel experimental realization of a time reversal invariant
topological insulator.
