Li3BiS3

Li3BiS3 is a metastable semiconducting ternary sulfide containing lithium, bismuth, and sulfur.

BiLiS
Crystal structure of Li3BiS3 (trigonal, R-3 (No. 148))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Li3BiS3

Li3BiS3 is a ternary sulfide compound composed of lithium, bismuth, and sulfur. As a semiconducting material, it represents a complex arrangement of elements that has been the subject of significant structural investigation across multiple databases.

Because it is characterized as metastable, this compound offers unique pathways for synthesis and phase transformation. Its electronic nature makes it an interesting candidate for researchers exploring the intersection of chalcogenide chemistry and solid-state ionics.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Li3BiS3, aggregated across 2 databases.

Band Gap

2.06–2.55 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: wide gap

Energy Above Hull

0.055 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Metastable
2 DFT sources

Structures

21
2 databases, 5 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of Li3BiS3. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.88 / 1.00
Trust tier: medium

Hull Spread

0.029 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

2
jarvis, materials_project

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for Li3BiS3, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
R-3 (No. 148)trigonal2.450.0251-4.3303.74
Pna21 (No. 33)orthorhombic2.250.0382-4.3173.88
R3c (No. 161)trigonal2.560.0487-4.3063.83
R-3 (No. 148)trigonal2.470.0546-1.087—
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic2.270.0657-4.2893.68
R3c (No. 161)trigonal2.550.0685-1.073—
P-1 (No. 2)triclinic2.110.0747-4.2803.30
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic0.990.0937-4.2613.79
P213 (No. 198)cubic1.950.1044-4.2514.02
P213 (No. 198)cubic2.060.1275-1.014—
R3c (No. 161)trigonal———3.83
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———3.76
Uses

Applications

Where Li3BiS3 is used.

Solid-state ionics researchChalcogenide materials developmentFundamental semiconductor studies
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Li3BiS3, answered from cross-validated data.

What is Li3BiS3?

Li3BiS3 is a metastable semiconducting ternary sulfide containing lithium, bismuth, and sulfur.

More questions
What is Li3BiS3 used for?
Li3BiS3 is used in solid-state ionics research, chalcogenide materials development, and fundamental semiconductor studies.
What is the band gap of Li3BiS3?
Li3BiS3 has a DFT-computed band gap of 2.06–2.55 eV across 21 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is Li3BiS3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 2.55 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is Li3BiS3 thermodynamically stable?
Li3BiS3 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.055 eV/atom (metastable).
What is the crystal structure of Li3BiS3?
The reference structure of Li3BiS3 is trigonal symmetry, space group R-3 (No. 148).
What is the density of Li3BiS3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Li3BiS3 is 3.74 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Li3BiS3 are known?
21 structures of Li3BiS3 are reported across 2 databases, spanning 5 distinct space groups.
What elements does Li3BiS3 contain?
Li3BiS3 contains Bi, Li, and S (3 elements).
Where does the data for Li3BiS3 come from?
Li3BiS3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, jarvis, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a ternary sulfide with a distinct stoichiometry, Li3BiS3 occupies a specialized niche in materials science. Without direct structural siblings in this specific class, it serves as a primary reference point for understanding how bismuth-based lithium sulfides behave under various synthetic conditions.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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