BC2N

boron carbonitride

This synthetic material is a superhard compound composed of boron, carbon, and nitrogen atoms arranged in a crystalline structure. It is primarily researched for its potential as a high-performance abrasive and as a protective coating in demanding industrial environments.

Crystal structure of BC2N (orthorhombic, Pmm2 (No. 25))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for BC2N, aggregated across 4 databases.

Band Gap

0.73–2.47 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.538 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Above hull
2 DFT sources

Structures

20
4 databases, 9 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of BC2N. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

1.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: medium

Hull Spread

0.000 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

2
jarvis, materials_project

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for BC2N, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Pmm2 (No. 25)orthorhombic1.660.5379-9.2613.42
P2221 (No. 17)orthorhombic2.110.5430-9.2563.42
C2/m (No. 12)monoclinic2.470.6392-9.1603.06
Cm (No. 8)monoclinic0.730.8871-8.9123.37
C2 (No. 5)monoclinic0.000.9046-8.8943.15
P-4m2 (No. 115)tetragonal1.520.9941-8.8053.34
C2 (No. 5)
Pmm2 (No. 25)
P2221 (No. 17)
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic2.50
P-4m2 (No. 115)
C2/m (No. 12)
Uses

Applications

Where BC2N is used.

superhard abrasive toolsprotective wear-resistant coatingshigh-pressure research
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about BC2N, answered from cross-validated data.

What is BC2N?

This synthetic material is a superhard compound composed of boron, carbon, and nitrogen atoms arranged in a crystalline structure. It is primarily researched for its potential as a high-performance abrasive and as a protective coating in demanding industrial environments.

More questions
What is BC2N used for?
BC2N is used in superhard abrasive tools, protective wear-resistant coatings, and high-pressure research.
What is the band gap of BC2N?
BC2N has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.73–2.47 eV across 20 reported structures.
Is BC2N a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 2.47 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is BC2N thermodynamically stable?
BC2N has a lowest energy above hull of 0.538 eV/atom (above hull).
What is the crystal structure of BC2N?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of BC2N is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Pmm2 (No. 25).
What is the density of BC2N?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of BC2N is 3.42 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of BC2N are known?
20 structures of BC2N are reported across 4 databases, spanning 9 distinct space groups.
What elements does BC2N contain?
BC2N contains B, C, and N (3 elements).
Where does the data for BC2N come from?
BC2N data is cross-referenced from materials_project, jarvis, mpaloe, cod.
Explore

Related Compounds

Other Nitride Semiconductors in the database.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
  • cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).

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