Ag5SbS4
Stephanite · Silver antimony sulfide
Ag5SbS4 is a semiconducting silver antimony sulfide compound that is considered a promising candidate for synthetic development in materials science.
About Stephanite
Ag5SbS4 is a complex silver-based sulfosalt that exhibits semiconducting electronic properties. Its structural configuration and chemical composition place it within a group of chalcogenide materials that are of significant interest for their potential in optoelectronic and sensing technologies. The compound is characterized as being near the thermodynamic hull, suggesting it is a viable candidate for synthesis and experimental characterization. With multiple reported structural variations, it represents a versatile platform for studying the interplay between silver mobility and semiconducting behavior in sulfide frameworks.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Stephanite, aggregated across 3 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of Ag5SbS4. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Ag5SbS4, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 0.71 | 0.0090 | -0.139 | — |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 0.71 | 0.0090 | -0.139 | — |
| — | — | 0.77 | 0.0147 | -0.220 | — |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 0.59 | 0.0153 | -16.627 | 5.89 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.28 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.30 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.30 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.12 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.04 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.22 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 5.89 |
Applications
Where Stephanite is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Stephanite, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Ag5SbS4?
Ag5SbS4 is a semiconducting silver antimony sulfide compound that is considered a promising candidate for synthetic development in materials science.
What is Ag5SbS4 used for?
What is the band gap of Ag5SbS4?
Is Ag5SbS4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Ag5SbS4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Ag5SbS4?
How many polymorphs of Ag5SbS4 are known?
What elements does Ag5SbS4 contain?
Where does the data for Ag5SbS4 come from?
How It Compares
As a distinct sulfosalt, Ag5SbS4 occupies a unique niche in the study of silver-antimony-sulfur systems, serving as a critical reference point for understanding the stability and electronic behavior of complex chalcogenides that do not rely on more common, simpler mineral structures.
Data sources & attribution
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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