Al2CO

Al2CO is a metastable semiconducting compound containing aluminum, carbon, and oxygen.

AlCO
Crystal structure of Al2CO (hexagonal, P63mc (No. 186))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Al2CO

Al2CO is a metastable compound composed of aluminum, carbon, and oxygen. As a semiconducting material, it represents an intriguing subject for research into non-traditional ternary phases that exist outside of standard thermodynamic equilibrium.

Its existence is confirmed by multiple reported structures across various databases, highlighting its role as a specialized material of interest. This compound is primarily studied for its potential electronic properties and its behavior under diverse synthetic conditions.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Al2CO, aggregated across 5 databases.

Band Gap

1.15–2.97 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: wide gap

Energy Above Hull

0.051 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Metastable
3 DFT sources

Structures

18
5 databases, 5 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of Al2CO. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.83 / 1.00
Trust tier: high

Hull Spread

0.042 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for Al2CO, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Pna21 (No. 33)orthorhombic2.970.0514-1.471—
Pna21 (No. 33)orthorhombic2.660.0765-6.8402.99
——1.150.0937-1.342—
P-6m2 (No. 187)hexagonal1.940.1351-1.388—
P-6m2 (No. 187)hexagonal1.760.1450-6.7723.17
Pna21 (No. 33)orthorhombic———3.07
Pna21 (No. 33)orthorhombic———3.13
P-6m2 (No. 187)hexagonal———3.35
P-6m2 (No. 187)hexagonal———3.17
P-1 (No. 2)triclinic———3.48
Pna21 (No. 33)orthorhombic———2.99
P-1 (No. 2)triclinic———3.48
Uses

Applications

Where Al2CO is used.

Fundamental materials science researchSemiconductor development studies
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Al2CO, answered from cross-validated data.

What is Al2CO?

Al2CO is a metastable semiconducting compound containing aluminum, carbon, and oxygen.

More questions
What is Al2CO used for?
Al2CO is used in fundamental materials science research and semiconductor development studies.
What is the band gap of Al2CO?
Al2CO has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.15–2.97 eV across 18 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is Al2CO a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 2.97 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is Al2CO thermodynamically stable?
Al2CO has a lowest energy above hull of 0.051 eV/atom (metastable).
What is the crystal structure of Al2CO?
The reference structure of Al2CO is hexagonal symmetry, space group P63mc (No. 186).
What is the density of Al2CO?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Al2CO is 3.01 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Al2CO are known?
18 structures of Al2CO are reported across 5 databases, spanning 5 distinct space groups.
What elements does Al2CO contain?
Al2CO contains Al, C, and O (3 elements).
Where does the data for Al2CO come from?
Al2CO data is cross-referenced from jarvis, materials_project, oqmd, mpaloe, cod.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a unique ternary phase, Al2CO serves as an example of the complex structural landscape found in aluminum-based systems. While it lacks direct structural siblings in this context, it stands as a point of comparison for other metastable semiconductors that exhibit non-stoichiometric or unconventional bonding arrangements.

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)
  • 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)

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