Al3Cu2

Al3Cu2 is a metastable metallic compound formed from aluminum and copper that is primarily studied for its complex structural properties.

AlCu
Crystal structure of Al3Cu2 (trigonal, P-3m1 (No. 164))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Al3Cu2

Al3Cu2 is a metallic intermetallic compound composed of aluminum and copper. As a metastable phase, it represents a specific structural arrangement within the complex aluminum-copper binary system, reflecting the intricate interplay between these two elements during alloy formation.

This material is of significant interest in materials science due to the variety of structural configurations it can adopt. Its metallic nature and metastable status make it a subject of ongoing study for researchers investigating phase stability and the evolution of microstructures in metal alloys.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Al3Cu2, aggregated across 5 databases.

Band Gap

Metallic / not reported

Energy Above Hull

0.029 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Metastable
4 DFT sources

Structures

20
5 databases, 5 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for Al3Cu2, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
P-3m1 (No. 164)trigonal0.000.0293-8.5734.77
P-3m1 (No. 164)Trigonal4.63
4.80
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic2.97
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic3.00
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic3.15
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic3.80
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic3.65
P-3m1 (No. 164)Trigonal4.77
P-3m1 (No. 164)Trigonal4.84
4.61
P-3m1 (No. 164)
Uses

Applications

Where Al3Cu2 is used.

Fundamental materials researchAlloy phase stability studiesMetallurgical structural analysis
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Al3Cu2, answered from cross-validated data.

What is Al3Cu2?

Al3Cu2 is a metastable metallic compound formed from aluminum and copper that is primarily studied for its complex structural properties.

More questions
What is Al3Cu2 used for?
Al3Cu2 is used in fundamental materials research, alloy phase stability studies, and metallurgical structural analysis.
What is the band gap of Al3Cu2?
Al3Cu2 is computed to be metallic (no band gap) in the reported DFT structures.
Is Al3Cu2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Computed band structures report no gap, so it is metallic.
Is Al3Cu2 thermodynamically stable?
Al3Cu2 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.029 eV/atom (metastable).
What is the crystal structure of Al3Cu2?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Al3Cu2 is trigonal symmetry, space group P-3m1 (No. 164).
What is the density of Al3Cu2?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Al3Cu2 is 4.77 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Al3Cu2 are known?
20 structures of Al3Cu2 are reported across 5 databases, spanning 5 distinct space groups.
What elements does Al3Cu2 contain?
Al3Cu2 contains Al and Cu (2 elements).
Where does the data for Al3Cu2 come from?
Al3Cu2 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, omat24, aflow, jarvis.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a specific intermetallic phase within the aluminum-copper system, Al3Cu2 occupies a distinct structural niche. Unlike more common, highly stable phases found in industrial alloys, this compound is characterized by its metastability, highlighting the diversity of potential atomic arrangements that can exist in this metallic binary space.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
  • omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
  • aflow — Data from AFLOW. Cite: Curtarolo et al., Comp. Mater. Sci. 58, 218 (2012).
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).

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