In2O3
Indium oxide · Indium(III) oxide
Indium oxide is a stable, semiconducting metal oxide widely used for its transparency and electrical conductivity in electronic and sensing technologies.
About Indium oxide
Indium oxide is a prominent member of the wide-bandgap oxide semiconductor family, characterized by its robust thermodynamic stability on the convex hull. Its unique electronic properties make it a foundational material in modern optoelectronics, where it serves as a critical component for transparent electrodes and various thin-film applications.
Beyond its role in conductive films, this material is widely utilized in chemical sensing due to its high sensitivity to atmospheric changes. Its structural versatility, evidenced by a vast array of reported experimental and theoretical configurations, underscores its reliability and importance in industrial material science.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Indium oxide, 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 In2O3. 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 In2O3, 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 | 1.20 | 0.0000 | -1.703 | — |
| — | — | 1.19 | 0.0000 | -1.844 | — |
| Ia-3 (No. 206) | cubic | 0.93 | 0.0000 | -6.067 | 7.00 |
| Pbcn (No. 60) | orthorhombic | 0.83 | 0.0041 | -1.699 | — |
| — | — | 1.43 | 0.0129 | -1.831 | — |
| R-3c (No. 167) | trigonal | 0.96 | 0.0207 | -6.046 | 7.19 |
| — | — | 1.27 | 0.0263 | -1.818 | — |
| — | — | 1.38 | 0.0299 | -1.814 | — |
| Pbca (No. 61) | orthorhombic | 0.88 | 0.0311 | -6.035 | 7.32 |
| Pbcn (No. 60) | orthorhombic | 0.76 | 0.0378 | -6.029 | 7.43 |
| — | — | 1.09 | 0.0480 | -1.796 | — |
| — | — | 1.00 | 0.0813 | -1.763 | — |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting In2O3.
Applications
Where Indium oxide is used.
Patent Landscape
6 patents reference In2O3 or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 7700510 | Opto-ceramics made from In2O3 or oxides Y, Lu, Sc, Yb, In, Gd, and La, optical elements made therefrom, and ma | — | — |
| 8466077 | Sputtering target for forming ZrO2-In2O3 based protective film for optical storage medium | — | — |
| 9885109 | ITO ceramic sputtering targets with reduced In2O3 contents and method of producing it | — | — |
| 7157111 | MOCVD selective deposition of C-axis oriented PB5GE3O11 thin films on In2O3 oxides | — | — |
| 9214519 | In2O3—SnO2—ZnO sputtering target | — | — |
| 6235260 | Method for producing In2O3--SnO2 precursor sol | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Indium oxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is In2O3?
Indium oxide is a stable, semiconducting metal oxide widely used for its transparency and electrical conductivity in electronic and sensing technologies.
What is In2O3 used for?
What is the band gap of In2O3?
Is In2O3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is In2O3 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of In2O3?
How many polymorphs of In2O3 are known?
How is In2O3 synthesized?
What elements does In2O3 contain?
Where does the data for In2O3 come from?
Related Research
How It Compares
Within the wide-bandgap oxide semiconductors class.
Within the class of wide-bandgap oxides, In2O3 is distinguished by its superior electrical conductivity compared to insulators like Al2O3, positioning it as a functional counterpart to SnO2 and ZnO in transparent electronic applications.
Related Compounds
Other Wide-Bandgap Oxide Semiconductors 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)
- 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)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
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