Al
Aluminum · Aluminium
Aluminum is a lightweight, stable metallic element widely used for its structural and conductive properties in diverse industrial sectors.
About Aluminum
Aluminum is a fundamental metallic element that exists in a thermodynamically stable state. It is recognized for its excellent structural integrity and widespread availability, serving as a cornerstone material in modern engineering and manufacturing. Its metallic electronic character allows for high electrical and thermal conductivity, making it indispensable for infrastructure and technology.
Due to its robust stability and abundance, aluminum is one of the most extensively characterized materials in scientific databases. It is frequently utilized in applications where weight reduction is critical without sacrificing strength, cementing its role as a primary structural metal in global industry.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Aluminum, aggregated across 6 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 Al. 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 Al, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -6.732 | 2.72 |
| Pm-3m (No. 221) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 3.307 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.096 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0008 | 0.001 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0010 | 0.001 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0018 | 0.002 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0043 | 0.004 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0105 | -6.722 | 2.82 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0142 | 0.014 | — |
Applications
Where Aluminum is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Aluminum, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Al?
Aluminum is a lightweight, stable metallic element widely used for its structural and conductive properties in diverse industrial sectors.
What is Al used for?
What is the band gap of Al?
Is Al a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Al thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Al?
How many polymorphs of Al are known?
What elements does Al contain?
Where does the data for Al come from?
How It Compares
As a standalone elemental metal, aluminum defines the standard for lightweight, corrosion-resistant structural materials. It serves as the primary benchmark for metallic performance in industrial applications, setting the bar for versatility and stability in comparison to other structural elements.
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)
- 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)
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