Cu
Copper · Cu, elemental copper
Copper is a stable, metallic chemical element widely utilized for its conductive and structural properties.
About Copper
Copper is a foundational metallic element known for its exceptional stability and structural versatility. As a pure metal, it serves as a primary building block in materials science, characterized by its metallic electronic nature and its position as a thermodynamically stable phase.
Its prevalence in research is highlighted by its extensive structural data across numerous databases. This ubiquity makes it an essential reference point for understanding metallic bonding and the behavior of transition metals in various environmental conditions.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Copper, 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 Cu. 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 Cu, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.125 | — |
| I4/mmm (No. 139) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.035 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.008 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.004 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -10.847 | 9.22 |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.036 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0029 | 0.003 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0056 | 0.006 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0062 | 0.006 | — |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting Cu.
Applications
Where Copper is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Copper, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Cu?
Copper is a stable, metallic chemical element widely utilized for its conductive and structural properties.
What is Cu used for?
What is the band gap of Cu?
Is Cu a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Cu thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Cu?
How many polymorphs of Cu are known?
How is Cu synthesized?
What elements does Cu contain?
Where does the data for Cu come from?
How It Compares
As a fundamental elemental metal, copper serves as the benchmark for metallic behavior and structural stability in materials science. It occupies a unique role as a primary reference material, providing the baseline against which the properties of more complex metallic alloys and compounds are measured.
Data sources & attribution
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- 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)
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