KNO3
Potassium nitrate · Saltpeter, Niter
Potassium nitrate is a naturally occurring mineral source of nitrogen that has been utilized for centuries in various industrial and agricultural processes. It serves as a vital component in fertilizers and is historically significant for its role in the production of energetic materials.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Potassium nitrate, 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.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for KNO3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 2.94 | 0.0000 | -6.285 | 2.19 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 3.29 | 0.0011 | -6.284 | 2.42 |
| R3m (No. 160) | trigonal | 2.98 | 0.0026 | -6.282 | 2.25 |
| Pm (No. 6) | monoclinic | 3.58 | 0.0029 | -6.282 | 2.26 |
| P21/m (No. 11) | monoclinic | 3.55 | 0.0070 | -6.278 | 2.16 |
| P21/m (No. 11) | monoclinic | 2.98 | 0.0075 | -6.277 | 1.94 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | 3.06 | 0.0118 | -6.273 | 1.87 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 2.95 | 0.0132 | -6.272 | 2.13 |
| R32 (No. 155) | trigonal | 3.02 | 0.0294 | -6.255 | 1.95 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 2.86 | 0.0436 | -6.241 | 1.91 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 3.23 | 0.0443 | -6.241 | 2.02 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 3.14 | 0.0464 | -6.238 | 1.96 |
Applications
Where Potassium nitrate is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Potassium nitrate, answered from cross-validated data.
What is KNO3?
Potassium nitrate is a naturally occurring mineral source of nitrogen that has been utilized for centuries in various industrial and agricultural processes. It serves as a vital component in fertilizers and is historically significant for its role in the production of energetic materials.
What is KNO3 used for?
What is the band gap of KNO3?
Is KNO3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is KNO3 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of KNO3?
What is the density of KNO3?
How many polymorphs of KNO3 are known?
What elements does KNO3 contain?
Where does the data for KNO3 come from?
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
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