CdO
cadmium oxide · cadmium monoxide
Cadmium oxide is a metallic, thermodynamically stable transparent conducting oxide used primarily in thin-film electronic and optoelectronic applications.
About cadmium oxide
Cadmium oxide is a quintessential member of the transparent conducting oxide family, characterized by its metallic electronic nature. As a thermodynamically stable material, it maintains a robust structural integrity that makes it a highly reliable candidate for thin-film applications where both electrical conductivity and optical transparency are required.
Its significance lies in its ability to facilitate charge carrier transport while remaining transparent to visible light. This unique combination of properties ensures its utility in advanced electronic components, serving as a foundational material for researchers investigating the limits of transparent conductive films.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for cadmium oxide, aggregated across 6 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 CdO. 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 CdO, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -1.240 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -4.300 | 8.10 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -1.171 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0003 | -1.239 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0004 | -1.239 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0005 | -1.239 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0006 | -1.239 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0006 | -1.239 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0016 | -1.238 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0021 | -1.238 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0028 | -1.237 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0028 | -1.237 | — |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting CdO.
Applications
Where cadmium oxide is used.
Patent Landscape
2 patents reference CdO or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 5102480 | Ag-SnO-CdO electrical contact materials and manufacturing method thereof | — | — |
| 3930849 | Electrical contact material of the Ag-CdO type and method of making same | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about cadmium oxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is CdO?
Cadmium oxide is a metallic, thermodynamically stable transparent conducting oxide used primarily in thin-film electronic and optoelectronic applications.
What is CdO used for?
What is the band gap of CdO?
Is CdO a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is CdO thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of CdO?
What is the density of CdO?
How many polymorphs of CdO are known?
How is CdO synthesized?
What elements does CdO contain?
Where does the data for CdO come from?
How It Compares
Within the transparent conducting oxides class.
Unlike the wide-gap insulating nature of siblings such as ZnGa2O4 or Zn2SiO4, CdO distinguishes itself through its metallic electronic character. While many other transparent conducting oxides in this class rely on intentional doping to achieve conductivity, CdO naturally exhibits metallic behavior, positioning it as a distinct alternative to more common oxides like ZnO in specialized optoelectronic research.
Related Compounds
Other Transparent Conducting Oxides in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- 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)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
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