KHO
Potassium hydroxide · Caustic potash, Potash lye
Potassium hydroxide is a stable, insulating inorganic compound commonly used as a strong industrial base.
About Potassium hydroxide
Potassium hydroxide is a highly stable inorganic compound that exists as a wide-band-gap insulator. Its robust thermodynamic profile ensures its reliability across a variety of chemical processes where a strong alkaline environment is required.
This material is a fundamental reagent in the chemical industry, valued for its reactivity and stability. It serves as a precursor to many potassium-based salts and is essential for the synthesis of various industrial products.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Potassium hydroxide, aggregated across 3 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 KHO. 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 KHO, 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 (No. 4) | monoclinic | 4.15 | 0.0000 | -1.445 | — |
| — | — | 4.08 | 0.0000 | -1.468 | — |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 3.68 | 0.0000 | -4.704 | 2.31 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 4.14 | 0.0001 | -1.445 | — |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 3.64 | 0.0002 | -4.704 | 2.29 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 4.14 | 0.0002 | -1.445 | — |
| P21 (No. 4) | monoclinic | 3.62 | 0.0004 | -4.704 | 2.32 |
| — | — | 4.13 | 0.0012 | -1.467 | — |
| — | — | 4.10 | 0.0029 | -1.465 | — |
| — | — | 3.77 | 0.0154 | -1.453 | — |
| — | — | 3.80 | 0.0167 | -1.451 | — |
| — | — | 3.74 | 0.0246 | -1.443 | — |
Applications
Where Potassium hydroxide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Potassium hydroxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is KHO?
Potassium hydroxide is a stable, insulating inorganic compound commonly used as a strong industrial base.
What is KHO used for?
What is the band gap of KHO?
Is KHO a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is KHO thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of KHO?
How many polymorphs of KHO are known?
What elements does KHO contain?
Where does the data for KHO come from?
How It Compares
As a primary inorganic hydroxide, this compound serves as a cornerstone of industrial alkaline chemistry, acting as a benchmark for reactivity and stability in its chemical class.
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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