Ag3AuS2
Petrovskaite · Ag3AuS2
Petrovskaite is a rare, metastable semiconducting mineral composed of silver, gold, and sulfur.
About Petrovskaite
Petrovskaite is a rare sulfide compound composed of silver and gold. As a semiconducting material, it represents a specialized niche in mineralogy where noble metals integrate into a sulfur-based lattice structure. Its existence as a metastable phase highlights the complex geochemical conditions required for its formation in nature.
Due to its scarcity and the specific conditions needed for synthesis, this compound is primarily of interest to mineralogists and materials scientists studying phase stability. Its electronic properties make it a subject of fundamental research into how precious metal sulfides behave in solid-state systems.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Petrovskaite, aggregated across 4 databases.
Band GapEnergy needed to move an electron from the valence band to the conduction band. Lower or zero values tend to behave more metallic; larger gaps are more insulating or semiconducting.
Energy Above HullThermodynamic distance from the most stable set of competing phases. 0 eV/atom is on the convex hull; small positive values may still be experimentally accessible.
StabilityA plain-language summary of the best reported energy-above-hull result. It reflects whether the lowest-energy structure is on, near, or far from the stability hull.
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of Ag3AuS2. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Ag3AuS2, ranked by energy above hull.
| Space GroupSymmetry classification of the crystal arrangement. The number is the international space-group index. | Crystal SystemBroad lattice family, such as cubic, tetragonal, monoclinic, or triclinic, derived from unit-cell symmetry. | Band Gap (eV)Electronic gap calculated for this specific reported structure, measured in electronvolts. | E above hull (eV/atom)Thermodynamic distance from the convex hull for this structure, normalized per atom. Lower is generally more stable. | E/atom (eV)Computed total energy normalized per atom. Use energy above hull, not this value alone, when comparing stability. | Density (g/cm³)Mass per relaxed crystal volume, reported in grams per cubic centimeter. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | 1.21 | 0.0113 | -0.057 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 1.56 | 0.0256 | -21.882 | 6.38 |
| P4132 (No. 213) | cubic | 0.18 | 0.0257 | -21.882 | 8.07 |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 1.70 | 0.0296 | -0.039 | — |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | 0.39 | 0.0416 | -21.866 | 7.32 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 7.53 |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | — | — | — | 6.32 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 7.32 |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | — | — | — | 6.07 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 7.67 |
| P4132 (No. 213) | cubic | — | — | — | 8.46 |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | — | — | — | 6.39 |
Applications
Where Petrovskaite is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Petrovskaite, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Ag3AuS2?
Petrovskaite is a rare, metastable semiconducting mineral composed of silver, gold, and sulfur.
What is Ag3AuS2 used for?
What is the band gap of Ag3AuS2?
Is Ag3AuS2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Ag3AuS2 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Ag3AuS2?
What is the density of Ag3AuS2?
How many polymorphs of Ag3AuS2 are known?
What elements does Ag3AuS2 contain?
Where does the data for Ag3AuS2 come from?
How It Compares
As a rare mineralogical phase, this compound occupies a unique position in the study of silver-gold-sulfur systems. Unlike more common binary sulfides, it represents a complex ternary arrangement that is inherently metastable, requiring precise conditions to maintain its structural integrity.
Data sources & attribution
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
Analyze Ag3AuS2 in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 85 source databases.
Explore the Platform →