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

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.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Al3Cu2, 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.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Al3Cu2, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0293 | -8.573 | 4.77 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 4.63 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 4.80 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.97 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 3.00 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 3.15 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 3.80 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 3.65 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 4.77 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 4.84 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 4.61 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | — | — | — | — | — |
Applications
Where Al3Cu2 is used.
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.
What is Al3Cu2 used for?
What is the band gap of Al3Cu2?
Is Al3Cu2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Al3Cu2 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Al3Cu2?
What is the density of Al3Cu2?
How many polymorphs of Al3Cu2 are known?
What elements does Al3Cu2 contain?
Where does the data for Al3Cu2 come from?
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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