H3N

Ammonia · NH3, Azane

H3N is a stable, insulating hydride of nitrogen and hydrogen that serves as a vital industrial chemical and a potential medium for hydrogen storage.

Crystal structure of H3N (cubic, P213 (No. 198))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Ammonia

H3N, commonly known as ammonia, is a fundamental hydrogen storage hydride characterized by its wide-gap insulating electronic structure. As a thermodynamically stable compound residing on the convex hull, it serves as a robust chemical platform for energy storage and synthesis.

Its significance extends beyond simple storage, as it acts as a primary precursor in the production of nitrogen-based fertilizers and various industrial chemicals. The compound's stability and high hydrogen density make it a subject of extensive structural research across multiple databases.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Ammonia, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

3.73–4.45 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

348
3 databases, 40 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for H3N, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
P213 (No. 198)cubic4.340.0000-5.2220.92
P212121 (No. 19)orthorhombic4.450.0038-5.2190.99
P213 (No. 198)cubic3.730.0220-5.2000.74
Amm2 (No. 38)Orthorhombic2.16
C2 (No. 5)Monoclinic1.65
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic1.95
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic1.67
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic1.97
C2 (No. 5)Monoclinic1.61
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic1.78
P21/c (No. 14)Monoclinic1.27
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic1.45
Uses

Applications

Where Ammonia is used.

Fertilizer productionRefrigerationHydrogen storage carrierChemical synthesis precursorExplosives manufacturing
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

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

What is H3N?

H3N is a stable, insulating hydride of nitrogen and hydrogen that serves as a vital industrial chemical and a potential medium for hydrogen storage.

More questions
What is H3N used for?
Ammonia (H3N) is used in fertilizer production, refrigeration, hydrogen storage carrier, chemical synthesis precursor, and explosives manufacturing.
What is the band gap of H3N?
Ammonia (H3N) has a DFT-computed band gap of 3.73–4.45 eV across 348 reported structures.
Is H3N a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 4.45 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is H3N thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Ammonia (H3N) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of H3N?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Ammonia (H3N) is cubic symmetry, space group P213 (No. 198).
What is the density of H3N?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Ammonia (H3N) is 0.92 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of H3N are known?
348 structures of H3N are reported across 3 databases, spanning 40 distinct space groups.
What elements does H3N contain?
Ammonia (H3N) contains H and N (2 elements).
Where does the data for H3N come from?
H3N data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
Comparison

How It Compares

Within the hydrogen storage hydrides class.

Within the class of hydrogen storage hydrides, H3N stands out as a molecular species compared to the more traditional ionic or metallic hydrides like MgH2, CaH2, or LiH. While those solid-state hydrides are often utilized for their reversible hydrogen desorption properties in structural alloys, H3N functions primarily as a high-density liquid or gaseous carrier, offering a distinct chemical pathway for hydrogen delivery and nitrogen-based fuel cycles.

Explore

Related Compounds

Other Hydrogen Storage Hydrides in the database.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).

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