C4Zn2
C4Zn2 is a metastable, semiconducting zinc-carbon compound frequently analyzed in computational materials research.

About C4Zn2
C4Zn2 is a semiconducting compound composed of zinc and carbon. Despite being a subject of significant interest in computational studies, it is characterized as thermodynamically unstable, sitting above the hull in energy landscapes.
Its electronic nature makes it a point of curiosity for researchers investigating metal-carbon frameworks. While it has been identified across multiple structural databases, its metastable nature remains a defining feature of its chemical identity.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for C4Zn2, aggregated across 4 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.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about C4Zn2, answered from cross-validated data.
What is C4Zn2?
C4Zn2 is a metastable, semiconducting zinc-carbon compound frequently analyzed in computational materials research.
What is the band gap of C4Zn2?
Is C4Zn2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is C4Zn2 thermodynamically stable?
How many polymorphs of C4Zn2 are known?
What elements does C4Zn2 contain?
Where does the data for C4Zn2 come from?
How It Compares
As a unique binary zinc-carbon phase, C4Zn2 serves as a distinct case study in the exploration of metastable semiconducting materials, representing a specialized niche within inorganic chemistry where structural diversity is high but thermodynamic stability is limited.
Data sources & attribution
- latticegraph — Lattice Graph Materials Intelligence Platform
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