IrN2

IrN2 is a semiconducting iridium nitride compound that exists as a metastable phase in materials research.

IrN
Crystal structure of IrN2 (monoclinic, P21/c (No. 14))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About IrN2

IrN2 is a semiconducting compound composed of iridium and nitrogen. Its electronic properties make it a subject of interest for researchers investigating the behavior of transition metal nitrides under various conditions. Given its position relative to the thermodynamic hull, it is considered a metastable phase. The high number of reported structures suggests significant interest in its potential configurations and synthesis pathways in materials science.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for IrN2, aggregated across 4 databases.

Band Gap

0.32–0.48 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: small gap

Energy Above Hull

0.094 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Metastable
3 DFT sources

Structures

199
4 databases, 26 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of IrN2. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.11 / 1.00
Trust tier: low

Hull Spread

0.224 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for IrN2, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
——0.000.09380.094—
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic0.320.1652-23.37412.99
Pnnm (No. 58)orthorhombic0.000.2158-23.32313.03
——0.480.27830.278—
Pa-3 (No. 205)cubic0.000.3095-23.22912.78
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic0.470.31740.307—
——0.000.32620.326—
Pnnm (No. 58)orthorhombic0.000.36980.359—
——0.000.42210.422—
Pa-3 (No. 205)cubic0.000.44580.436—
Pa-3 (No. 205)cubic0.000.44630.436—
Pa-3 (No. 205)cubic0.000.44630.436—
Uses

Applications

Where IrN2 is used.

High-pressure materials researchTransition metal nitride studies
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about IrN2, answered from cross-validated data.

What is IrN2?

IrN2 is a semiconducting iridium nitride compound that exists as a metastable phase in materials research.

More questions
What is IrN2 used for?
IrN2 is used in high-pressure materials research and transition metal nitride studies.
What is the band gap of IrN2?
IrN2 has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.32–0.48 eV across 199 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is IrN2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 0.48 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is IrN2 thermodynamically stable?
IrN2 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.094 eV/atom (metastable).
What is the crystal structure of IrN2?
The reference structure of IrN2 is monoclinic symmetry, space group P21/c (No. 14).
What is the density of IrN2?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of IrN2 is 12.99 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of IrN2 are known?
199 structures of IrN2 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 26 distinct space groups.
What elements does IrN2 contain?
IrN2 contains Ir and N (2 elements).
Where does the data for IrN2 come from?
IrN2 data is cross-referenced from oqmd, materials_project, jarvis, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a unique iridium-nitrogen phase, IrN2 serves as a critical reference point for understanding the bonding and stability limits of transition metal nitrides, which are often explored for their extreme hardness and potential as superhard materials.

Data sources & attribution
  • 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)
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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