Ho8O20Si4
Ho8O20Si4 is a thermodynamically stable holmium silicate that functions as a wide-gap insulator.

About Ho8O20Si4
Ho8O20Si4 is a complex holmium silicate characterized by its wide-gap insulating electronic profile. As a material residing on the convex hull, it exhibits significant thermodynamic stability, making it a robust candidate for structural and electronic investigations within rare-earth oxide systems. Its atomic arrangement highlights the versatility of holmium in forming stable silicate frameworks. The compound is primarily utilized in fundamental materials science research, where its insulating properties and structural integrity are leveraged to explore the behavior of rare-earth silicates in specialized electronic and optical applications. It serves as a key reference point for understanding the stability limits and phase behavior of complex metal-oxygen-silicon systems.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Ho8O20Si4, aggregated across 4 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 Ho8O20Si4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 4.70 | 0.0000 | -8.719 | 7.40 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | — | — | — | — | — |
| — | — | — | — | — | 6.13 |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 0.85 |
Applications
Where Ho8O20Si4 is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Ho8O20Si4, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Ho8O20Si4?
Ho8O20Si4 is a thermodynamically stable holmium silicate that functions as a wide-gap insulator.
What is Ho8O20Si4 used for?
What is the band gap of Ho8O20Si4?
Is Ho8O20Si4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Ho8O20Si4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Ho8O20Si4?
What is the density of Ho8O20Si4?
How many polymorphs of Ho8O20Si4 are known?
What elements does Ho8O20Si4 contain?
Where does the data for Ho8O20Si4 come from?
How It Compares
As a distinct holmium-based silicate, Ho8O20Si4 represents a stable structural configuration within the broader family of rare-earth silicates. It serves as a foundational example of how holmium can integrate into silicate lattices to maintain thermodynamic stability while providing a wide-gap electronic environment.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- aflow — Data from AFLOW. Cite: Curtarolo et al., Comp. Mater. Sci. 58, 218 (2012).
- omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
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