Na3SbS3: Single Crystal X-ray Diffraction
Impedance Measurement
Experimental Section
Synthesis: Pure samples of Na3SbS3 for X-ray powder diffraction and
impedance spectroscopy were obtained from stoichiometric mixtures
of Na2S, antimony (99.9999%, Chempur) and sulfur (99.999%, Chem-
pur) in a 3:2:3 ratio, which were heated to 870 K in evacuated silica
ampoules for 7 d. The ampoules were coated with graphite by pyroly-
sis of acetone prior to use. Anhydrous Na2S was obtained by reaction
of stoichiometric quantities of distilled sodium (99%, Merck) and sul-
fur in dry ammonia.[27] Due to their air and moisture sensitivity, all
procedures with Na2S and Na3SbS3 were performed in an atmosphere
of dry argon. For the structure determination of Na3SbS3, pale yellow
single crystals were obtained after a second annealing period of two
weeks at 720 K.
For the determination of the total electric conductivity of
Na3SbS3 frequency dependent impedance spectroscopy was
performed in a temperature range from 325 to 570 K. The
Nyquist plot in Figure 5 shows the relation between the real
and imaginary part of the impedance at 570 K. The linear arc
for frequencies below 1 kHz is generated by ionic conductivity,
which increases from 1ϫ10–9 Ω–1·cm–1 at 325 K to
2ϫ10–6 Ω–1·cm–1 at 570 K.
Crystal Structure Analysis: A transparent, pale yellow single crystal
of Na3SbS3 was measured in a drop of mineral oil. A nitrogen jet
cooled the sample down to 123 K in order to fix the crystal during
the data collection. Diffraction data were collected with an Oxford
Diffraction Gemini
R Ultra CCD with Mo-Kα radiation (λ =
0.71073 Å). Absorption correction was carried out by multi-scans.[19]
The crystal structure was solved by direct methods with SIR92.[20]
SHELX-97 was used for full-matrix least-squares structure refinement,
applying anisotropic displacement parameters for all atoms.[21] An ex-
tinction parameter was introduced in the final stage of the refinement.
The Flack parameter of almost 0 did not indicate any inversion twin-
ning.
Figure 5. Impedance spectrum of Na3SbS3 at 570 K. The spectrum
shows the typical frequency dependency in case of an ionic conductor
with ion blocking electrodes.
The dependency of ionic conductivity on temperature is il-
lustrated by the Arrhenius plot in Figure 6. The activation en-
ergy is 0.49 eV. The presented results for Na3SbS3 differ in
some case from the recently published values for Na3SbSe3.
The ionic conductivity of the selenide compound reaches a
slightly higher value (3ϫ10–6 Ω–1·cm–1 at 570 K).[11] The
conductivities of both sodium antimony chalcogenides are well
comparable for example to sodium tetrathiophosphate, which
shows an ionic conductivity of 4ϫ10–6 Ω–1·cm–1 at 323 K.[24]
However, Na3SbSe3 shows a significant higher activation en-
ergy of 0.69 eV than Na3SbS3. Ionic conductivity was not de-
tectable below 380 K. Jansen reported decreasing activation
energies of the low-temperature modification for the series
Na3PO4S4–x (x = 0, 1, 2, 3, 4). This observation is explained
by the increasing polarisability of the anion lattice from
Na3PO4 to Na3PS4.[25] Another example for this trend are the
silver ion conducting compounds Ag5Te2–ySeyCl (y = 0–0.7),
whose activation energies decrease with an increasing content
of tellurium.[26] Our studies on Na3SbS3 and Na3SbSe3 result
in a contrary tendency so far. Therefore further investigations
on compounds with a mixed chalcogenide lattice are in pro-
gress.
Powder X-ray Diffraction: Finely ground samples were sealed in an
argon atmosphere in a glass capillary (diameter 0.2 mm). X-ray pow-
der patterns were measured with a STOE Stadi P diffractometer with
monochromatic Cu-Kα1 radiation (λ = 1.540598 Å) and a Ge-mono-
chromator at room temperature. The intensities were collected in a 2θ
range from 8.0° to 90° and evaluated with the STOE program package
WINXPOW.[28]
Further details of the crystal structure investigations may be
obtained from the Fachinformationszentrum Karlsruhe, 76344 Egg-
enstein-Leopoldshafen, Germany (Fax: +49-7247-808-666; E-Mail:
posited data.html) on quoting the depository number CSD-425458.
Raman Spectroscopy: Raman spectra were recorded with a Varian
FTS 7000e Spectrometer with a Nd:YAG laser (λ = 1064 nm) and a
germanium detector cooled by liquid nitrogen. Samples were sealed in
glass capillaries (diameter 0.5 mm) and measured in back-scattering
mode. The signals were Fourier transformed by a Varian FT-Raman
module and analyzed with the software Varian resolutions pro.[29]
Differential Thermal Analysis: The thermal behavior was recorded
with a Setaram DTA-TG 92–16.18. A small amount of the powdered
sample was filled in a capillary tube (diameter 1.5 mm) and sealed
under vacuum. The tube was heated up from 298 to 1073 K and cooled
down again to room temperature with a heating/cooling rate of
10 K·min–1. Onset temperatures of the melting and crystallization pro-
cess are derived from the respective curves.
Impedance Spectroscopy: Frequency dependent impedance spec-
troscopy of Na3SbS3 was carried out with an experimental set-up de-
scribed earlier in a silica tube in an atmosphere of dry argon.[30] The
heating cycles proceeded in a temperature range from 325 to 570 K in
steps of 10 K. During a measurement the applied frequency was raised
from 1 Hz to 1 MHz with an IMd6A from Zahner Elektrik. Data were
collected and analyzed with the software Thales Flink.[31] Na3SbS3
Figure 6. The Arrhenius plot shows an exponential dependency of the
specific ionic conductivity on the reciprocal temperature.
Z. Anorg. Allg. Chem. 2013, 296–300
© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim
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