AuC2

AuC2 is a semiconducting gold-carbon compound that is structurally complex and typically exists in a metastable state.

AuC
Crystal structure of AuC2 (hexagonal, P6/mmm (No. 191))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About AuC2

AuC2 is a distinct gold-carbon compound that exhibits semiconducting electronic characteristics. Due to its position above the thermodynamic hull, it is considered a metastable phase that requires specific synthesis conditions to stabilize its structure. Its existence is supported by a significant number of reported structures across multiple databases, highlighting its interest in theoretical and experimental materials science.

This compound serves as an intriguing subject for investigating metal-carbon bonding and the potential for creating novel semiconducting materials. While its thermodynamic profile suggests limited stability under ambient conditions, the breadth of reported structural data underscores its importance in understanding the complex phase space of gold-based binary systems.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for AuC2, aggregated across 4 databases.

Band Gap

2.85 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: metal

Energy Above Hull

0.777 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Unstable
3 DFT sources

Structures

129
4 databases, 22 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of AuC2. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: low

Hull Spread

0.766 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

Mixed (most: P6/mmm (No. 191))
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for AuC2, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Cmmm (No. 65)orthorhombic0.000.77710.775—
Pmmm (No. 47)orthorhombic0.000.99480.993—
C2/m (No. 12)monoclinic0.001.23841.236—
——0.001.45551.455—
P6/mmm (No. 191)hexagonal2.851.5434-21.9504.24
——0.003.28113.281—
P1 (No. 1)triclinic———8.26
P1 (No. 1)triclinic———7.59
P1 (No. 1)triclinic———7.68
P1 (No. 1)triclinic———7.61
P1 (No. 1)triclinic———6.66
P1 (No. 1)triclinic———7.73
Uses

Applications

Where AuC2 is used.

Materials science researchSemiconductor physics studiesTheoretical phase stability modeling
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about AuC2, answered from cross-validated data.

What is AuC2?

AuC2 is a semiconducting gold-carbon compound that is structurally complex and typically exists in a metastable state.

More questions
What is AuC2 used for?
AuC2 is used in materials science research, semiconductor physics studies, and theoretical phase stability modeling.
What is the band gap of AuC2?
AuC2 has a DFT-computed band gap of 2.85 eV across 129 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is AuC2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 2.85 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is AuC2 thermodynamically stable?
AuC2 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.777 eV/atom (unstable).
What is the crystal structure of AuC2?
The reference structure of AuC2 is hexagonal symmetry, space group P6/mmm (No. 191).
What is the density of AuC2?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of AuC2 is 4.24 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of AuC2 are known?
129 structures of AuC2 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 22 distinct space groups.
What elements does AuC2 contain?
AuC2 contains Au and C (2 elements).
Where does the data for AuC2 come from?
AuC2 data is cross-referenced from jarvis, oqmd, materials_project, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a unique binary compound, AuC2 occupies a specialized niche in materials research, serving as a primary case study for gold-carbon interactions where traditional metallic behavior is replaced by semiconducting properties.

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)
  • 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)
  • 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.

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