CdO

cadmium oxide · cadmium monoxide

Cadmium oxide is a metallic, thermodynamically stable transparent conducting oxide used primarily in thin-film electronic and optoelectronic applications.

Crystal structure of CdO (cubic, Fm-3m (No. 225))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

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.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for cadmium oxide, aggregated across 6 databases.

Band Gap

Metallic / not reported

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
4 DFT sources

Structures

268
6 databases, 33 space groups
Validation

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 Score

1.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: high

Hull Spread

0.000 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, nomad

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for CdO, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Fm-3m (No. 225)cubic0.000.0000-4.3008.10
P63mc (No. 186)hexagonal0.000.0793-4.2216.47
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic6.22
P21/c (No. 14)Monoclinic8.37
P21/c (No. 14)Monoclinic6.53
P21/c (No. 14)Monoclinic5.80
P21/c (No. 14)Monoclinic5.83
Pma2 (No. 28)Orthorhombic6.28
Pma2 (No. 28)Orthorhombic6.28
Pma2 (No. 28)Orthorhombic6.28
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic6.75
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic3.43
Synthesis

Synthesis Routes

Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting CdO.

Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Uses

Applications

Where cadmium oxide is used.

Transparent electrodesPhotovoltaic cellsGas sensorsThin-film transistorsOptical coatings
Reference

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.

More questions
What is CdO used for?
cadmium oxide (CdO) is used in transparent electrodes, photovoltaic cells, gas sensors, thin-film transistors, and optical coatings.
What is the band gap of CdO?
cadmium oxide (CdO) is computed to be metallic (no band gap) in the reported DFT structures.
Is CdO a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Computed band structures report no gap, so it is metallic.
Is CdO thermodynamically stable?
Yes — cadmium oxide (CdO) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of CdO?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of cadmium oxide (CdO) is cubic symmetry, space group Fm-3m (No. 225).
What is the density of CdO?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of cadmium oxide (CdO) is 8.10 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of CdO are known?
268 structures of CdO are reported across 6 databases, spanning 33 distinct space groups.
How is CdO synthesized?
Literature-reported routes for CdO include sol-gel (5 procedures documented).
What elements does CdO contain?
cadmium oxide (CdO) contains Cd and O (2 elements).
Where does the data for CdO come from?
CdO data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe.
Comparison

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.

Explore

Related Compounds

Other Transparent Conducting Oxides in the database.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.

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