Production
On an industrial scale, sodium thiosulfate is produced chiefly from liquid waste products of sodium sulfide or sulfur dye manufacture.In the laboratory, this salt can be prepared by heating an aqueous solution of sodium sulfite with sulfur or by boiling aqueous sodium hydroxide and sulfur according to this equation:
6 NaOH + 4 S → 2 Na2S + Na2S2O3 + 3 H2O

Principal reactions
Upon heating to 300 °C, it decomposes to sodium sulfate and sodium polysulfide:

4 Na2S2O3 → 3 Na2SO4 + Na2S5Thiosulfate salts characteristically decompose upon treatment with acids. Initial protonation occurs at sulfur. When the protonation is conducted in diethyl ether at −78 °C, H2S2O3 (thiosulfuric acid) can be obtained. It is a somewhat strong acid with pKas of 0.6 and 1.7 for the first and second dissociations, respectively. Under normal conditions, acidification of solutions of this salt excess with even dilute acids results in complete decomposition to sulfur, sulfur dioxide, and water:
Na2S2O3 + 2 HCl → 2 NaCl + 1/8 S8 + SO2 + H2O

Coordination chemistry
Thiosulfate is a potent ligand for soft metal ions. A typical complex is [Pd(S2O3)2(ethylenediamine)]2-, which features a pair of S-bonded thiosulfate ligands. Sodium thiosulfate and ammonium thiosulfate have been proposed as alternative lixiviants to cyanide for extraction of gold. The advantages of this approach are that (i) thiosulfate is far less toxic than cyanide and (ii) that ore types that are refractory to gold cyanidation (e.g. carbonaceous or Carlin-type ores) can be leached by thiosulfate.
Neutralizing chlorinated water
It is used to dechlorinate tap water including lowering chlorine levels for use in aquariums, swimming pools, and spas (e.g., following superchlorination) and within water treatment plants to treat settled backwash water prior to release into rivers. The reduction reaction is analogous to the iodine reduction reaction. In pH testing of bleach substances, sodium thiosulfate neutralizes the color-removing effects of bleach and allows one to test the pH of bleach solutions with liquid indicators. The relevant reaction is akin to the iodine reaction: thiosulfate reduces the hypochlorite (active ingredient in bleach) and in so doing becomes oxidized to sulfate. The complete reaction is:

4 NaClO + Na2S2O3 + 2 NaOH → 4 NaCl + 2 Na2SO4 + H2OSimilarly, sodium thiosulfate reacts with bromine, removing the free bromine from solution. Solutions of sodium thiosulfate are commonly used as a precaution in chemistry laboratories when working with bromine and for the safe disposal of bromine, iodine, or other strong oxidizers. Structure
Two polymorphs are known of the pentahydrate. The anhydrous salt exists in several polymorphs. In the solid state, the thiosulfate anion is tetrahedral in shape and is notionally derived by replacing one of the oxygen atoms by a sulfur atom in a sulfate anion. The S-S distance indicates a single bond, implying that the terminal sulfur holds a significant negative charge and the S-O interactions have more double-bond character.