Cr3N4
Chromium nitride is a ceramic material known for its high hardness and resistance to chemical wear. It is primarily utilized as a protective coating to improve the durability and performance of industrial tools and mechanical components.
CrN
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Cr3N4, aggregated across 5 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.
Metallic / not reported
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.
0.083 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
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.
Metastable
4 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
81
5 databases, 16 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Cr3N4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P63/m (No. 176) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0833 | -12.235 | 5.06 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.1079 | -12.211 | 5.14 |
| P63/m (No. 176) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.1118 | -12.207 | 4.00 |
| P31c (No. 159) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.1177 | -12.201 | 4.03 |
| I-43d (No. 220) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.1625 | -12.156 | 4.47 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.1944 | -12.124 | 5.54 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.2299 | -12.089 | 4.99 |
| P31c (No. 159) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.2662 | -12.052 | 4.15 |
| Pm-3m (No. 221) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.2780 | -12.041 | 5.65 |
| P63/m (No. 176) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.5749 | -11.744 | 1.41 |
| P-6m2 (No. 187) | Hexagonal | — | — | — | 5.36 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 5.13 |
Uses
Applications
Where Cr3N4 is used.
Protective coatings for cutting toolsWear-resistant industrial componentsCorrosion-resistant surface treatments
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cr3N4, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Cr3N4?
Chromium nitride is a ceramic material known for its high hardness and resistance to chemical wear. It is primarily utilized as a protective coating to improve the durability and performance of industrial tools and mechanical components.
More questions
What is Cr3N4 used for?
Cr3N4 is used in protective coatings for cutting tools, wear-resistant industrial components, and corrosion-resistant surface treatments.
What is the band gap of Cr3N4?
Cr3N4 is computed to be metallic (no band gap) in the reported DFT structures.
Is Cr3N4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Computed band structures report no gap, so it is metallic.
Is Cr3N4 thermodynamically stable?
Cr3N4 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.083 eV/atom (metastable).
What is the crystal structure of Cr3N4?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Cr3N4 is hexagonal symmetry, space group P63/m (No. 176).
What is the density of Cr3N4?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Cr3N4 is 5.06 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Cr3N4 are known?
81 structures of Cr3N4 are reported across 5 databases, spanning 16 distinct space groups.
What elements does Cr3N4 contain?
Cr3N4 contains Cr and N (2 elements).
Where does the data for Cr3N4 come from?
Cr3N4 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
Analyze Cr3N4 in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 53 integrated data sources.
Explore the Platform →