Cu2SnSe3
CTS
Copper tin selenide is a semiconductor material composed of earth-abundant elements. It is primarily researched for its potential as a light-absorbing layer in thin-film solar cells.
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Cu2SnSe3, aggregated across 4 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.
0.02–0.09 eV
Range across DFT structures
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.
0.013 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.
Near hull (likely stable)
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
19
4 databases, 4 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Cu2SnSe3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cc (No. 9) | monoclinic | 0.09 | 0.0128 | -15.238 | 5.54 |
| Cc (No. 9) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.0130 | -15.237 | 5.57 |
| Imm2 (No. 44) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.0138 | -15.237 | 5.52 |
| Cc (No. 9) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.0140 | -15.236 | 5.59 |
| Fdd2 (No. 43) | orthorhombic | 0.02 | 0.0153 | -15.235 | 5.61 |
| Cc (No. 9) | — | — | — | — | — |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 1.45 |
| Cc (No. 9) | — | — | — | — | — |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 1.44 |
| Imm2 (No. 44) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fdd2 (No. 43) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 5.61 |
| Imm2 (No. 44) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 5.75 |
Synthesis
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting Cu2SnSe3.
Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Uses
Applications
Where Cu2SnSe3 is used.
PhotovoltaicsThin-film solar cellsOptoelectronic devices
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cu2SnSe3, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Cu2SnSe3?
Copper tin selenide is a semiconductor material composed of earth-abundant elements. It is primarily researched for its potential as a light-absorbing layer in thin-film solar cells.
More questions
What is Cu2SnSe3 used for?
Cu2SnSe3 is used in photovoltaics, thin-film solar cells, and optoelectronic devices.
What is the band gap of Cu2SnSe3?
Cu2SnSe3 has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.02–0.09 eV across 19 reported structures.
Is Cu2SnSe3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a near-zero band gap it behaves as a (semi)metal.
Is Cu2SnSe3 thermodynamically stable?
Cu2SnSe3 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.013 eV/atom (near hull (likely stable)).
What is the crystal structure of Cu2SnSe3?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Cu2SnSe3 is monoclinic symmetry, space group Cc (No. 9).
What is the density of Cu2SnSe3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Cu2SnSe3 is 5.54 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Cu2SnSe3 are known?
19 structures of Cu2SnSe3 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 4 distinct space groups.
How is Cu2SnSe3 synthesized?
Literature-reported routes for Cu2SnSe3 include sol-gel.
What elements does Cu2SnSe3 contain?
Cu2SnSe3 contains Cu, Se, and Sn (3 elements).
Where does the data for Cu2SnSe3 come from?
Cu2SnSe3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, jarvis, cod, mpaloe.
Explore
Related Compounds
Other Chalcogenide Photovoltaic Absorbers in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
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