HfN
Hafnium nitride · Hafnium mononitride
Hafnium nitride is a stable, metallic ceramic material known for its extreme heat resistance and durability in demanding industrial coatings.
About Hafnium nitride
Hafnium nitride is a robust ultra-high-temperature ceramic characterized by its metallic electronic nature. As a thermodynamically stable phase, it maintains structural integrity under demanding conditions, making it a critical material for high-performance engineering applications.
Due to its exceptional hardness and thermal resilience, this compound is primarily utilized in protective coatings. Its stability and metallic conductivity distinguish it from many other ceramic insulators, allowing it to perform effectively in environments where both heat resistance and electrical properties are required.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Hafnium nitride, aggregated across 6 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.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of HfN. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for HfN, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -1.925 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -29.123 | 13.92 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -1.855 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0003 | -1.854 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0208 | -29.102 | 13.88 |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0301 | -1.895 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.2708 | -1.584 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.2709 | -1.584 | — |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.2727 | -28.850 | 10.80 |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.2924 | -1.632 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.3874 | -1.467 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.5263 | -1.328 | — |
Applications
Where Hafnium nitride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Hafnium nitride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is HfN?
Hafnium nitride is a stable, metallic ceramic material known for its extreme heat resistance and durability in demanding industrial coatings.
What is HfN used for?
What is the band gap of HfN?
Is HfN a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is HfN thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of HfN?
How many polymorphs of HfN are known?
What elements does HfN contain?
Where does the data for HfN come from?
How It Compares
Within the ultra-high-temperature ceramics class.
Within the family of ultra-high-temperature ceramics, HfN stands out as a highly stable metallic phase compared to the more complex or insulating nitrides like Hf3N4. While it shares the refractory nature common to carbides like HfC and ZrC, its specific electronic character and structural simplicity make it a preferred candidate for specialized thin-film applications where metallic behavior is advantageous.
Related Compounds
Other Ultra-High-Temperature Ceramics in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- oqmd — Data from the OQMD (oqmd.org). Cite: Saal et al., JOM 65, 1501 (2013); Kirklin et al., npj Comp. Mater. 1, 15010 (2015). (CC-BY-4.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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