Co4Sb12
skutterudite · cobalt antimonide
Co4Sb12 is a stable semiconducting cobalt antimonide that acts as a primary material platform for developing advanced thermoelectric energy conversion technologies.
About skutterudite
Co4Sb12 is a prominent member of the skutterudite family, characterized by its distinct cage-like crystal structure. As a thermodynamically stable semiconducting material, it serves as a foundational framework for engineering high-performance thermoelectric devices capable of efficient heat-to-electricity conversion.
Its structural architecture allows for the incorporation of guest atoms within its voids, which is a primary strategy for tuning its thermal and electronic properties. This flexibility makes it a subject of extensive research for sustainable energy harvesting technologies and solid-state cooling solutions.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for skutterudite, aggregated across 3 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.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Co4Sb12, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Im-3 (No. 204) | cubic | 0.16 | 0.0000 | -22.736 | 7.59 |
| Im-3 (No. 204) | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | — | — | — | — | 7.45 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 6.60 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 6.31 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 7.45 |
| Im-3 (No. 204) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Im-3 (No. 204) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Im-3 (No. 204) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Im-3 (No. 204) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Im-3 (No. 204) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Im-3 (No. 204) | — | — | — | — | — |
Applications
Where skutterudite is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about skutterudite, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Co4Sb12?
Co4Sb12 is a stable semiconducting cobalt antimonide that acts as a primary material platform for developing advanced thermoelectric energy conversion technologies.
What is Co4Sb12 used for?
What is the band gap of Co4Sb12?
Is Co4Sb12 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Co4Sb12 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Co4Sb12?
What is the density of Co4Sb12?
How many polymorphs of Co4Sb12 are known?
What elements does Co4Sb12 contain?
Where does the data for Co4Sb12 come from?
How It Compares
Within the skutterudite thermoelectrics class.
Within the diverse group of skutterudite and related pnictide materials, Co4Sb12 stands out as a highly stable and well-documented archetype. While compounds like FeP2 or NiP2 share similar structural motifs, Co4Sb12 is uniquely optimized for thermoelectric performance, often serving as the baseline against which other filled or substituted skutterudite variants are evaluated.
Related Compounds
Other Skutterudite Thermoelectrics in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- aflow — Data from AFLOW. Cite: Curtarolo et al., Comp. Mater. Sci. 58, 218 (2012).
- omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
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