CaO

calcium oxide · quicklime, burnt lime

Calcium oxide is a stable, insulating inorganic compound commonly known as quicklime that plays a vital role in industrial manufacturing and chemical processing.

CaO
Crystal structure of CaO
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About calcium oxide

Calcium oxide is a fundamental inorganic compound that exists as a thermodynamically stable solid. Its character as a wide-gap insulator makes it a critical component in various high-temperature industrial applications where chemical stability is paramount.

Due to its extensive history and utility, this material is exceptionally well-documented in structural databases. It serves as a cornerstone in materials chemistry, providing a reliable foundation for the synthesis of more complex ceramic and mineral systems.

At a glance

Key Properties

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

Band Gap

1.74–3.63 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

339
4 databases, 34 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of CaO. 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
Synthesis

Synthesis Routes

Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting CaO.

Solid State
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Solid State
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Solid State
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Solid State
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Uses

Applications

Where calcium oxide is used.

Steel manufacturingPaper and pulp productionWater treatmentConstruction materialsChemical synthesis
Intellectual Property

Patent Landscape

10 patents reference CaO or close compositional variants.

PatentTitleAssigneeGranted
3965237Dissolution process for ZrO.sub.2 -UO.sub.2 -CaO fuels
5110772Fabrication of dense SI.sub.3 N.sub.4 ceramics using CaO-TiO.sub.2 SiO.sub. 2
3966421Ultra-high strength steel containing CaO, MgO, BaO or SrO having improved resistance to environmental stress c
4486545SIO.sub.2 -CaO Based low cubically expansive flame-spraying material
7595037Method and apparatus for hydration of a particulate or pulverulent material containing CaO, hydrated product,
7087526Method of fabricating a p-type CaO-doped SrCu2O2 thin film
4795725Method for the manufacture of refractory bricks containing CaO
4710481Method for melting Ti or a high-Ti alloy in CaO refractories
4605443CaO-Al.sub.2 O.sub.3 -SiO.sub.2 glass hydraulic cements
5077260Compositions involving V.sub.2 O.sub.3 -CaO
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about calcium oxide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is CaO?

Calcium oxide is a stable, insulating inorganic compound commonly known as quicklime that plays a vital role in industrial manufacturing and chemical processing.

More questions
What is CaO used for?
calcium oxide (CaO) is used in steel manufacturing, paper and pulp production, water treatment, construction materials, and chemical synthesis.
What is the band gap of CaO?
calcium oxide (CaO) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.74–3.63 eV across 339 reported structures.
Is CaO a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 3.63 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is CaO thermodynamically stable?
Yes — calcium oxide (CaO) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
How many polymorphs of CaO are known?
339 structures of CaO are reported across 4 databases, spanning 34 distinct space groups.
How is CaO synthesized?
Literature-reported routes for CaO include solid state (4 procedures documented).
What elements does CaO contain?
calcium oxide (CaO) contains Ca and O (2 elements).
Where does the data for CaO come from?
CaO data is cross-referenced from latticegraph.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a highly stable and well-characterized oxide, this compound serves as a primary reference material for alkaline earth metal oxides. Its structural simplicity and thermodynamic robustness distinguish it as a foundational building block in inorganic chemistry, setting the standard for stability within its chemical group.

Data sources & attribution
  • latticegraph — Lattice Graph Materials Intelligence Platform

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