SnS

Tin monosulfide · Tin(II) sulfide, Herzenbergite

Tin monosulfide is a semiconductor material composed of tin and sulfur that naturally occurs as the mineral herzenbergite. Due to its favorable optical and electrical properties, it is widely researched for use in sustainable thin-film solar cells and optoelectronic devices.

SSn
Crystal structure of SnS (orthorhombic, Pnma (No. 62))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Tin monosulfide, aggregated across 4 databases.

Band Gap

0.09–1.67 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

131
4 databases, 22 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

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

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic0.900.0000-16.8624.90
Cmcm (No. 63)orthorhombic0.310.0285-16.8345.07
Cmcm (No. 63)orthorhombic1.130.0762-16.7863.94
Aem2 (No. 39)orthorhombic1.460.0782-16.7842.67
Aem2 (No. 39)orthorhombic1.670.0787-16.7831.31
P-1 (No. 2)triclinic1.430.0852-16.7772.76
Fm-3m (No. 225)cubic0.090.0916-16.7715.10
F-43m (No. 216)cubic0.170.2784-16.5843.60
Cmcm (No. 63)Orthorhombic3.84
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic3.38
Cmcm (No. 63)Orthorhombic5.18
No. 0unknown3.71
Uses

Applications

Where Tin monosulfide is used.

Photovoltaic cellsHolographic recording systemsLithium-ion battery anodesNear-infrared sensors
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Tin monosulfide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is SnS?

Tin monosulfide is a semiconductor material composed of tin and sulfur that naturally occurs as the mineral herzenbergite. Due to its favorable optical and electrical properties, it is widely researched for use in sustainable thin-film solar cells and optoelectronic devices.

More questions
What is SnS used for?
Tin monosulfide (SnS) is used in photovoltaic cells, holographic recording systems, lithium-ion battery anodes, and near-infrared sensors.
What is the band gap of SnS?
Tin monosulfide (SnS) has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.09–1.67 eV across 131 reported structures.
Is SnS a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 1.67 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is SnS thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Tin monosulfide (SnS) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of SnS?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Tin monosulfide (SnS) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Pnma (No. 62).
What is the density of SnS?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Tin monosulfide (SnS) is 4.90 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of SnS are known?
131 structures of SnS are reported across 4 databases, spanning 22 distinct space groups.
What elements does SnS contain?
Tin monosulfide (SnS) contains S and Sn (2 elements).
Where does the data for SnS come from?
SnS data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, cod.
Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
  • cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).

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