Cu2Te
Cu2Te is a metallic copper-tellurium compound known for its structural complexity and metastable nature.
About Cu2Te
Cu2Te is a metallic binary compound composed of copper and tellurium. Due to its metallic electronic character, it exhibits high conductivity, making it an interesting subject for researchers exploring the intersection of chalcogenide chemistry and solid-state physics. Despite its potential utility, the compound is identified as being above the thermodynamic hull, suggesting it is metastable under standard conditions. Its complex structural landscape is evidenced by the numerous distinct configurations reported across multiple scientific databases.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Cu2Te, 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.
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 Cu2Te. 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 Cu2Te, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.1378 | -15.622 | 6.19 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | — | — | — | — | — |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 8.39 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 7.98 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 7.96 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | Hexagonal | — | — | — | 6.32 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | Hexagonal | — | — | — | 6.19 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 6.09 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.59 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | Hexagonal | — | — | — | 6.40 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 5.46 |
Applications
Where Cu2Te is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cu2Te, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Cu2Te?
Cu2Te is a metallic copper-tellurium compound known for its structural complexity and metastable nature.
What is Cu2Te used for?
What is the band gap of Cu2Te?
Is Cu2Te a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Cu2Te thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Cu2Te?
What is the density of Cu2Te?
How many polymorphs of Cu2Te are known?
What elements does Cu2Te contain?
Where does the data for Cu2Te come from?
How It Compares
As a binary copper telluride, Cu2Te represents a specific stoichiometry within the broader family of copper-chalcogenide materials. While it lacks direct structural siblings in this context, it serves as a critical reference point for understanding the phase stability and structural polymorphism common to copper-rich telluride systems.
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).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
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