Cu4Mg2Y2

Cu4Mg2Y2 is a semimetallic ternary intermetallic compound characterized by its structural complexity and metastable nature.

CuMgY
Crystal structure of Cu4Mg2Y2 (orthorhombic, Immm (No. 71))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Cu4Mg2Y2

Cu4Mg2Y2 is a complex intermetallic compound composed of copper, magnesium, and yttrium. It exhibits a near-zero-gap electronic character, placing it in the category of semimetallic materials that bridge the gap between conductors and semiconductors.

Due to its position above the thermodynamic hull, this compound is considered metastable. Despite its instability, it has been the subject of significant structural investigation, appearing frequently across multiple materials databases as researchers map the phase space of ternary copper-based alloys.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Cu4Mg2Y2, aggregated across 4 databases.

Band Gap

0.08 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

2.092 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Above hull
3 DFT sources

Structures

41
4 databases, 6 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for Cu4Mg2Y2, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Immm (No. 71)orthorhombic0.082.0924-2.1980.39
Cmcm (No. 63)
Pmmn (No. 59)
Cmcm (No. 63)
Cmcm (No. 63)
P63/mmc (No. 194)
P63/mmc (No. 194)
Pmmn (No. 59)
I4/mmm (No. 139)
I4/mmm (No. 139)
I4/mmm (No. 139)
I4/mmm (No. 139)
Uses

Applications

Where Cu4Mg2Y2 is used.

Materials science researchPhase diagram mappingFundamental solid-state physics studies
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Cu4Mg2Y2, answered from cross-validated data.

What is Cu4Mg2Y2?

Cu4Mg2Y2 is a semimetallic ternary intermetallic compound characterized by its structural complexity and metastable nature.

More questions
What is Cu4Mg2Y2 used for?
Cu4Mg2Y2 is used in materials science research, phase diagram mapping, and fundamental solid-state physics studies.
What is the band gap of Cu4Mg2Y2?
Cu4Mg2Y2 has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.08 eV across 41 reported structures.
Is Cu4Mg2Y2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a near-zero band gap it behaves as a (semi)metal.
Is Cu4Mg2Y2 thermodynamically stable?
Cu4Mg2Y2 has a lowest energy above hull of 2.092 eV/atom (above hull).
What is the crystal structure of Cu4Mg2Y2?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Cu4Mg2Y2 is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Immm (No. 71).
What is the density of Cu4Mg2Y2?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Cu4Mg2Y2 is 0.39 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Cu4Mg2Y2 are known?
41 structures of Cu4Mg2Y2 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 6 distinct space groups.
What elements does Cu4Mg2Y2 contain?
Cu4Mg2Y2 contains Cu, Mg, and Y (3 elements).
Where does the data for Cu4Mg2Y2 come from?
Cu4Mg2Y2 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, aflow, omat24, nomad.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a unique ternary intermetallic, Cu4Mg2Y2 serves as a specialized case study in the broader landscape of copper-magnesium-yttrium alloys, where its distinct stoichiometry and electronic properties contribute to the ongoing effort to understand phase formation in complex metallic systems.

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).
  • nomad — Data from NOMAD. Cite: Draxl & Scheffler, J. Phys. Mater. 2, 036001 (2019).

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