Be2C
beryllium carbide · beryllium methanide
Beryllium carbide is a stable, semiconducting ceramic material known for its high hardness and utility in demanding thermal environments.
About beryllium carbide
Beryllium carbide is a robust, thermodynamically stable compound formed from beryllium and carbon. As a semiconductor, it exhibits distinct electronic characteristics that set it apart from typical ionic carbides, making it a subject of significant interest in materials science research. Its structural integrity is underscored by the extensive number of reported configurations documented across major databases.
This material is primarily valued for its exceptional thermal and mechanical properties, which allow it to function in extreme environments. It serves as a critical component in advanced ceramic applications where high hardness and thermal stability are paramount requirements for performance.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for beryllium carbide, 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 Be2C. 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 Be2C, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 1.55 | 0.0000 | -0.400 | — |
| — | — | 1.41 | 0.0000 | -0.234 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 1.16 | 0.0000 | -5.800 | 2.47 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 1.49 | 0.0573 | -0.342 | — |
| — | — | 3.66 | 0.5226 | 0.289 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 1.7037 | 1.470 | — |
| P-1 (No. 2) | triclinic | — | — | — | 1.93 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 3.83 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 2.22 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 1.95 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 1.97 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 1.77 |
Applications
Where beryllium carbide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about beryllium carbide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Be2C?
Beryllium carbide is a stable, semiconducting ceramic material known for its high hardness and utility in demanding thermal environments.
What is Be2C used for?
What is the band gap of Be2C?
Is Be2C a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Be2C thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Be2C?
How many polymorphs of Be2C are known?
What elements does Be2C contain?
Where does the data for Be2C come from?
How It Compares
As a unique binary compound, beryllium carbide occupies a specialized niche in materials science. Unlike more common metallic carbides, its semiconducting nature and stable position on the convex hull make it a distinct reference point for studying the fundamental bonding interactions between light elements.
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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