AgN3
Silver azide · Silver(I) azide
Silver azide is a highly sensitive, semiconducting inorganic compound primarily used as a primary explosive in detonators.
About Silver azide
Silver azide is a semiconducting inorganic compound characterized by its nitrogen-rich composition. It is recognized for its high sensitivity and energetic nature, which stems from its thermodynamic instability relative to its constituent elements.
Due to its reactive profile, the compound is primarily utilized in specialized pyrotechnic and detonator applications. Its structural complexity is well-documented, with numerous reported configurations reflecting its significant role in energetic materials research.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Silver azide, aggregated across 5 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 AgN3. 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 AgN3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ibam (No. 72) | orthorhombic | 1.59 | 0.3504 | -11.835 | 4.28 |
| Ibam (No. 72) | orthorhombic | 1.57 | 0.3542 | -6.606 | 4.32 |
| I4/mcm (No. 140) | tetragonal | 1.63 | 0.3742 | -11.811 | 4.87 |
| — | — | 1.70 | 0.4910 | 0.491 | — |
| I4/mcm (No. 140) | tetragonal | 1.78 | 0.6041 | 0.592 | — |
| Ibam (No. 72) | orthorhombic | 1.90 | 0.6098 | 0.598 | — |
| Ibam (No. 72) | orthorhombic | 1.90 | 0.6101 | 0.599 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.8649 | 0.865 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 1.5876 | 1.588 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 2.8875 | 2.888 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 2.9666 | 2.967 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 3.0491 | 3.049 | — |
Applications
Where Silver azide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Silver azide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is AgN3?
Silver azide is a highly sensitive, semiconducting inorganic compound primarily used as a primary explosive in detonators.
What is AgN3 used for?
What is the band gap of AgN3?
Is AgN3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is AgN3 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of AgN3?
What is the density of AgN3?
How many polymorphs of AgN3 are known?
What elements does AgN3 contain?
Where does the data for AgN3 come from?
How It Compares
As an energetic inorganic salt, silver azide occupies a distinct niche within materials science, functioning as a primary explosive where high sensitivity to external stimuli is a functional requirement rather than a drawback.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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