K2SO3
Potassium sulfite · Dipotassium sulfite
Potassium sulfite is a white, water-soluble inorganic salt that acts as a reducing agent. It is frequently utilized in food processing as a preservative and in various industrial chemical applications.
KOS
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Potassium sulfite, 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.
4.91 eV
Range across DFT structures
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.
0.069 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
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.
Metastable
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
7
4 databases, 3 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for K2SO3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | trigonal | 4.91 | 0.0686 | -5.611 | 2.34 |
| Cc (No. 9) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.7715 | -4.908 | 1.75 |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 0.61 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 2.34 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 2.45 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 2.38 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | — | — | — | — | — |
Uses
Applications
Where Potassium sulfite is used.
Food preservationPhotography processingWater treatmentTextile bleaching
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Potassium sulfite, answered from cross-validated data.
What is K2SO3?
Potassium sulfite is a white, water-soluble inorganic salt that acts as a reducing agent. It is frequently utilized in food processing as a preservative and in various industrial chemical applications.
More questions
What is K2SO3 used for?
Potassium sulfite (K2SO3) is used in food preservation, photography processing, water treatment, and textile bleaching.
What is the band gap of K2SO3?
Potassium sulfite (K2SO3) has a DFT-computed band gap of 4.91 eV across 7 reported structures.
Is K2SO3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 4.91 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is K2SO3 thermodynamically stable?
Potassium sulfite (K2SO3) has a lowest energy above hull of 0.069 eV/atom (metastable).
What is the crystal structure of K2SO3?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Potassium sulfite (K2SO3) is trigonal symmetry, space group P-3m1 (No. 164).
What is the density of K2SO3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Potassium sulfite (K2SO3) is 2.34 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of K2SO3 are known?
7 structures of K2SO3 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 3 distinct space groups.
What elements does K2SO3 contain?
Potassium sulfite (K2SO3) contains K, O, and S (3 elements).
Where does the data for K2SO3 come from?
K2SO3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, cod, mpaloe, jarvis.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
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