HNO

Nitroxyl · Azanone

Nitroxyl is a short-lived and reactive nitrogen-oxygen species that plays a critical role as a signaling molecule in biological systems.

HNO
Crystal structure of HNO (monoclinic, C2/c (No. 15))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Nitroxyl

Nitroxyl is a transient and highly reactive chemical species that exists as a wide-gap insulating molecule. Due to its nature as a species residing above the thermodynamic hull, it is inherently unstable and typically exists only as a fleeting intermediate in chemical or biological pathways.

Its significance lies primarily in its potent biological signaling properties, particularly in cardiovascular physiology. Despite its instability, researchers have identified numerous structural configurations, highlighting its complex role in nitrogen chemistry.

At a glance

Key Properties

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

Band Gap

1.23–3.42 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: insulator

Energy Above Hull

0.480 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Unstable
2 DFT sources

Structures

10
3 databases, 5 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of HNO. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.95 / 1.00
Trust tier: medium

Hull Spread

0.011 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

2
jarvis, materials_project

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

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

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic3.060.4795-5.8991.61
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic3.120.4909-0.071—
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic3.120.4909-0.071—
Cc (No. 9)monoclinic3.270.5156-5.8631.67
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic3.420.5510-5.8281.60
Pm (No. 6)monoclinic1.231.99581.434—
P-6m2 (No. 187)hexagonal0.002.69262.131—
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———1.83
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic———1.78
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic———1.87
Uses

Applications

Where Nitroxyl is used.

Cardiovascular researchBiological signaling studiesSynthetic nitrogen chemistry
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

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

What is HNO?

Nitroxyl is a short-lived and reactive nitrogen-oxygen species that plays a critical role as a signaling molecule in biological systems.

More questions
What is HNO used for?
Nitroxyl (HNO) is used in cardiovascular research, biological signaling studies, and synthetic nitrogen chemistry.
What is the band gap of HNO?
Nitroxyl (HNO) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.23–3.42 eV across 10 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is HNO a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a wide band gap of up to 3.42 eV (an insulator or wide-band-gap material).
Is HNO thermodynamically stable?
Nitroxyl (HNO) has a lowest energy above hull of 0.480 eV/atom (unstable).
What is the crystal structure of HNO?
The reference structure of Nitroxyl (HNO) is monoclinic symmetry, space group C2/c (No. 15).
What is the density of HNO?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Nitroxyl (HNO) is 1.61 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of HNO are known?
10 structures of HNO are reported across 3 databases, spanning 5 distinct space groups.
What elements does HNO contain?
Nitroxyl (HNO) contains H, N, and O (3 elements).
Where does the data for HNO come from?
HNO data is cross-referenced from materials_project, jarvis, cod.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a unique and highly reactive species, nitroxyl stands apart from stable inorganic compounds due to its propensity to rapidly transform. Unlike conventional materials that occupy a ground-state equilibrium, this compound is defined by its transient existence and high chemical potential.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
  • cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)

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