HeSiO2
HeSiO2 is a metastable, insulating compound containing helium, silicon, and oxygen that serves as a subject of interest in high-pressure materials research.

About HeSiO2
HeSiO2 is a metastable compound composed of helium, silicon, and oxygen. As a wide-gap insulator, it represents an unusual combination of noble gas chemistry and silicate frameworks, highlighting the complex interactions possible under extreme conditions.
This material is of significant interest to researchers studying high-pressure phases and the incorporation of inert gases into solid-state lattices. Its existence as a metastable phase provides valuable insights into the thermodynamic limits of noble gas compounds.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for HeSiO2, 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 HeSiO2, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R-3c (No. 167) | trigonal | 6.55 | 0.0263 | -6.261 | 2.11 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 6.49 | 0.0296 | -6.258 | 2.11 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | — | — | — | — | — |
| R-3c (No. 167) | — | — | — | — | — |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 0.67 |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 0.58 |
| R-3c (No. 167) | — | — | — | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about HeSiO2, answered from cross-validated data.
What is HeSiO2?
HeSiO2 is a metastable, insulating compound containing helium, silicon, and oxygen that serves as a subject of interest in high-pressure materials research.
What is the band gap of HeSiO2?
Is HeSiO2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is HeSiO2 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of HeSiO2?
What is the density of HeSiO2?
How many polymorphs of HeSiO2 are known?
What elements does HeSiO2 contain?
Where does the data for HeSiO2 come from?
How It Compares
As a unique inclusion compound, HeSiO2 stands apart from conventional silicate minerals due to the integration of helium into its structural framework, representing a specialized area of study within high-pressure materials science.
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).
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
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