C2N
C2N is an insulating carbon-nitrogen compound primarily studied for its unique electronic properties and structural diversity.
About C2N
C2N is a distinct carbon-nitrogen compound characterized by its wide-band-gap insulating electronic profile. Its unique atomic arrangement makes it a subject of significant interest in computational materials science, where researchers explore its potential for specialized electronic and optoelectronic applications.
While current data suggests it resides above the thermodynamic hull, indicating potential metastability, the existence of numerous reported structures highlights its structural complexity. This compound serves as a fascinating case study for understanding nitrogen-doped carbon frameworks and their synthetic pathways.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for C2N, 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 C2N. 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 C2N, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pa-3 (No. 205) | cubic | 3.12 | 0.3737 | -9.301 | 1.10 |
| — | — | 3.12 | 0.4300 | 0.430 | — |
| P2/m (No. 10) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.8815 | 0.874 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 2.9173 | 2.917 | — |
| Pmm2 (No. 25) | orthorhombic | 0.16 | 3.1068 | 3.100 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 4.3950 | 4.395 | — |
| I-42d (No. 122) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 3.65 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.75 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 3.77 |
| Cc (No. 9) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 4.54 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 3.46 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 1.81 |
Applications
Where C2N is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about C2N, answered from cross-validated data.
What is C2N?
C2N is an insulating carbon-nitrogen compound primarily studied for its unique electronic properties and structural diversity.
What is C2N used for?
What is the band gap of C2N?
Is C2N a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is C2N thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of C2N?
What is the density of C2N?
How many polymorphs of C2N are known?
What elements does C2N contain?
Where does the data for C2N come from?
How It Compares
As a specialized carbon-nitrogen framework, C2N occupies a niche position in materials research. Without direct structural siblings in this specific class, it stands as a unique representative of insulating nitrogen-doped carbon allotropes, serving as a primary benchmark for investigating the stability and electronic properties of non-graphitic carbon-nitrogen networks.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- 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)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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