H4C
Methane · CH4, Natural gas
Methane is the simplest alkane hydrocarbon and a primary component of natural gas, characterized by its high thermodynamic stability and insulating electronic nature.
About Methane
Methane is the simplest hydrocarbon and a fundamental building block in organic chemistry. As a thermodynamically stable compound, it exists as a wide-band-gap insulator, representing a primary component of natural gas and a key feedstock for industrial chemical synthesis. Its structural simplicity makes it a highly studied subject in molecular modeling and materials science, with extensive data available across multiple structural databases. Beyond its role in energy, methane is critical for understanding carbon-hydrogen bonding and serves as a precursor in the production of hydrogen and various synthetic materials. Its stability and abundance make it a cornerstone of both geological processes and chemical engineering applications.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Methane, aggregated across 3 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.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for H4C, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-43m (No. 217) | cubic | 7.64 | 0.0000 | -5.009 | 0.44 |
| Cmmm (No. 65) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 1.01 |
| I4/m (No. 87) | Tetragonal | — | — | — | 1.54 |
| Pm (No. 6) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.71 |
| Pm (No. 6) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.55 |
| Pm (No. 6) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.31 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.33 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.17 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.09 |
| Fmmm (No. 69) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 1.56 |
| Fmmm (No. 69) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 1.34 |
| I4/m (No. 87) | Tetragonal | — | — | — | 1.67 |
Applications
Where Methane is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Methane, answered from cross-validated data.
What is H4C?
Methane is the simplest alkane hydrocarbon and a primary component of natural gas, characterized by its high thermodynamic stability and insulating electronic nature.
What is H4C used for?
What is the band gap of H4C?
Is H4C a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is H4C thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of H4C?
What is the density of H4C?
How many polymorphs of H4C are known?
What elements does H4C contain?
Where does the data for H4C come from?
How It Compares
As the foundational member of the alkane series, methane sets the standard for the chemical and physical behavior of saturated hydrocarbons, serving as the benchmark against which more complex, higher-order carbon-hydrogen structures are measured.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
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