Antimony triselenide is the chemical compound with the formulaSb2Se3. The material exists as the sulfosaltmineralantimonselite (IMAsymbol: Atm[2]), which crystallizes in an orthorhombic space group.[3] In this compound, antimony has a formal oxidation state +3 and selenium −2. The bonding in this compound has covalent character as evidenced by the black color and semiconducting properties of this and related materials.[4] The low-frequency dielectric constant (ε0) has been measured to be 133 along the c axis of the crystal at room temperature, which is unusually large.[5] Its band gap is 1.18 eV at room temperature.[6]
The compound may be formed by the reaction of antimony with selenium and has a melting point of 885 K.[4]
Applications
Sb2Se3 is now being actively explored for application thin-film solar cells.[7] A record light-to-electricity conversion efficiency of 9.2% has been reported.[8]