Solution Synthesis of Sb2S3 and Na3SbS4 Solid-State Electrolyte

Sodium thioantimonate (Na 3 SbS 4 ) is an attractive solid-state electrolyte for sodium-ion batteries due to its high ionic conductivity and stability in protic solvents. Herein, we describe solution-based routes for its synthesis. First, we demonstrate the synthesis of the Sb 2 S 3 precursor via thermodynamically favorable metathesis between Na 2 S and SbCl 3 . This solution-based approach is further extended to couple the resulting Sb 2 S 3 with Na 2 S for the synthesis of Na 3 SbS 4 . It is shown that ethanol is a superior solvent to water for solution-based synthesis of Na 3 SbS 4 with respect to yield, morphology, and performance. Amorphous Sb 2 S 3 synthesized from low-temperature metathesis produced highly crystalline Na 3 SbS 4 with a room temperature Na + conductivity of 0.52 mS cm −1 and low activation energy, comparable to leading values reported in the literature.