KH
Potassium hydride · Potassium monohydride
Potassium hydride is a reactive inorganic compound that acts as a strong base in organic synthesis. It is highly sensitive to moisture and air, requiring careful handling during chemical procedures.
HK
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Potassium hydride, 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.
3.43 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.
0.000 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.
On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
66
4 databases, 14 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for KH, 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 | 3.43 | 0.0000 | -5.026 | 1.46 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 0.35 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 0.56 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 0.74 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.07 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.07 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.07 |
| P4/mmm (No. 123) | Tetragonal | — | — | — | 0.65 |
| P2/m (No. 10) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 0.65 |
| Pm (No. 6) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 0.65 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 1.68 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 0.51 |
Uses
Applications
Where Potassium hydride is used.
Organic synthesisDeprotonation reagentChemical research
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Potassium hydride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is KH?
Potassium hydride is a reactive inorganic compound that acts as a strong base in organic synthesis. It is highly sensitive to moisture and air, requiring careful handling during chemical procedures.
More questions
What is KH used for?
Potassium hydride (KH) is used in organic synthesis, deprotonation reagent, and chemical research.
What is the band gap of KH?
Potassium hydride (KH) has a DFT-computed band gap of 3.43 eV across 66 reported structures.
Is KH a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 3.43 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is KH thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Potassium hydride (KH) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of KH?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Potassium hydride (KH) is cubic symmetry, space group Fm-3m (No. 225).
What is the density of KH?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Potassium hydride (KH) is 1.46 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of KH are known?
66 structures of KH are reported across 4 databases, spanning 14 distinct space groups.
What elements does KH contain?
Potassium hydride (KH) contains H and K (2 elements).
Where does the data for KH come from?
KH data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, cod.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
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