Au2O3
Gold(III) oxide · Auric oxide
Gold(III) oxide is a stable, semiconducting inorganic compound used primarily in chemical synthesis and as a precursor for gold-based materials.
About Gold(III) oxide
Gold(III) oxide is a binary inorganic compound that stands out as a thermodynamically stable member of the gold-oxygen system. As a semiconducting material, it represents a unique intersection of noble metal chemistry and oxide physics, maintaining its structural integrity under standard conditions.
Its significance lies in its role as a precursor for gold-based catalysts and specialized materials. Due to the relative rarity of stable gold oxides, this compound is highly valued in research for its distinct electronic character and its utility in high-precision chemical applications.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Gold(III) oxide, 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 Au2O3. 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 Au2O3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 1.04 | 0.0000 | -0.281 | — |
| Fdd2 (No. 43) | orthorhombic | 0.97 | 0.0000 | -0.176 | — |
| Fdd2 (No. 43) | orthorhombic | 0.85 | 0.0000 | -4.736 | 11.06 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | 0.74 | 0.0262 | -4.710 | 10.41 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.3019 | 0.021 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.3216 | 0.040 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.8116 | 0.530 | — |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 11.48 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 11.64 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 11.34 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 11.39 |
| P2 (No. 3) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 10.91 |
Applications
Where Gold(III) oxide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Gold(III) oxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Au2O3?
Gold(III) oxide is a stable, semiconducting inorganic compound used primarily in chemical synthesis and as a precursor for gold-based materials.
What is Au2O3 used for?
What is the band gap of Au2O3?
Is Au2O3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Au2O3 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Au2O3?
How many polymorphs of Au2O3 are known?
What elements does Au2O3 contain?
Where does the data for Au2O3 come from?
How It Compares
As a primary oxide of gold, this compound serves as a fundamental reference point for gold-based inorganic chemistry. Unlike many other metal oxides that exhibit diverse structural families, gold(III) oxide is notable for being one of the few stable gold-oxygen phases, making it a critical subject for understanding noble metal oxidation states.
Data sources & attribution
- 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)
- 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)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
- nomad — Data from NOMAD (nomad-lab.eu). Cite: Draxl & Scheffler, J. Phys. Mater. 2, 036001 (2019). (CC-BY-4.0)
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
Analyze Au2O3 in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 85 source databases.
Explore the Platform →