C2N

carbon nitride, poly(carbon nitride)

Carbon nitride is a synthetic material composed of carbon and nitrogen atoms arranged in a layered or network structure. It is primarily researched for its potential as a semiconductor in photocatalytic processes and as a durable coating material.

CN
Crystal structure of C2N (cubic, Pa-3 (No. 205))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for C2N, aggregated across 4 databases.

Band Gap

3.12 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.374 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Above hull
2 DFT sources

Structures

25
4 databases, 14 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of C2N. 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 C2N, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Pa-3 (No. 205)cubic3.120.3737-9.3011.10
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic2.64
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic2.19
Pmn21 (No. 31)Orthorhombic2.98
Pn-3m (No. 224)Cubic4.06
R3m (No. 160)Trigonal2.51
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic3.15
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic3.46
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic2.07
Pmn21 (No. 31)Orthorhombic3.71
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic3.77
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic2.67
Uses

Applications

Where C2N is used.

photocatalysiswater splittingorganic synthesisprotective coatings
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about C2N, answered from cross-validated data.

What is C2N?

Carbon nitride is a synthetic material composed of carbon and nitrogen atoms arranged in a layered or network structure. It is primarily researched for its potential as a semiconductor in photocatalytic processes and as a durable coating material.

More questions
What is C2N used for?
C2N is used in photocatalysis, water splitting, organic synthesis, and protective coatings.
What is the band gap of C2N?
C2N has a DFT-computed band gap of 3.12 eV across 25 reported structures.
Is C2N a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 3.12 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is C2N thermodynamically stable?
C2N has a lowest energy above hull of 0.374 eV/atom (above hull).
What is the crystal structure of C2N?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of C2N is cubic symmetry, space group Pa-3 (No. 205).
What is the density of C2N?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of C2N is 1.10 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of C2N are known?
25 structures of C2N are reported across 4 databases, spanning 14 distinct space groups.
What elements does C2N contain?
C2N contains C and N (2 elements).
Where does the data for C2N come from?
C2N data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis, cod.
Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
  • cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).

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