AlP
Aluminum phosphide · AlP
Aluminum phosphide is a stable III-V semiconductor material utilized in both advanced electronic components and industrial fumigation processes.
About Aluminum phosphide
Aluminum phosphide is a prominent member of the III-V semiconductor family, characterized by its robust thermodynamic stability. As a binary compound, it serves as a critical material in the development of optoelectronic devices and high-frequency electronics due to its favorable electronic structure.
Beyond its role in semiconductor technology, this compound is widely recognized for its chemical reactivity in specific industrial and agricultural contexts. Its ability to release phosphine gas makes it a highly effective, albeit hazardous, agent for pest control and grain preservation.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Aluminum phosphide, 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 AlP. 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 AlP, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 1.79 | 0.0000 | -0.752 | — |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 1.63 | 0.0000 | -8.604 | 2.35 |
| — | — | 1.75 | 0.0000 | -0.737 | — |
| — | — | 2.09 | 0.0039 | -0.733 | — |
| P63mc (No. 186) | hexagonal | 1.96 | 0.0044 | -8.600 | 2.35 |
| P63mc (No. 186) | hexagonal | 2.05 | 0.0066 | -0.745 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.2507 | -0.486 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.2701 | -0.467 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.2920 | -0.445 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.3383 | -0.413 | — |
| Imm2 (No. 44) | orthorhombic | 0.73 | 0.3867 | -0.365 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.5689 | -0.168 | — |
Applications
Where Aluminum phosphide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Aluminum phosphide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is AlP?
Aluminum phosphide is a stable III-V semiconductor material utilized in both advanced electronic components and industrial fumigation processes.
What is AlP used for?
What is the band gap of AlP?
Is AlP a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is AlP thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of AlP?
How many polymorphs of AlP are known?
What elements does AlP contain?
Where does the data for AlP come from?
How It Compares
Within the iii-v semiconductors class.
Within the III-V semiconductor class, Aluminum phosphide occupies a unique niche compared to its siblings like Gallium phosphide or Aluminum arsenide. While it shares the characteristic zinc-blende crystal structure common to many of these compounds, its specific electronic properties and reactivity profile distinguish it from the more inert nitrides like Aluminum nitride or Indium nitride.
Related Compounds
Other III-V Semiconductors in the database.
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.
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