KO2
Potassium superoxide · Potassium hyperoxide
Potassium superoxide is a chemical compound used primarily to generate oxygen and remove carbon dioxide in emergency breathing apparatuses.

About Potassium superoxide
Potassium superoxide is a semiconducting inorganic compound that plays a critical role in chemical oxygen generation. Its ability to react with moisture and carbon dioxide makes it an essential component for sustaining breathable atmospheres in closed environments.
As a thermodynamically stable material, it is highly valued for its reliability in specialized safety equipment. The compound is widely recognized for its high structural diversity, with numerous reported configurations that underscore its importance in chemical research and industrial applications.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Potassium superoxide, 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.
Applications
Where Potassium superoxide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Potassium superoxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is KO2?
Potassium superoxide is a chemical compound used primarily to generate oxygen and remove carbon dioxide in emergency breathing apparatuses.
What is KO2 used for?
What is the band gap of KO2?
Is KO2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is KO2 thermodynamically stable?
How many polymorphs of KO2 are known?
What elements does KO2 contain?
Where does the data for KO2 come from?
How It Compares
As a prominent superoxide, this compound serves as a benchmark for oxygen-releasing materials, functioning as a primary chemical agent in applications where high-efficiency carbon dioxide scrubbing and oxygen regeneration are required simultaneously.
Data sources & attribution
- latticegraph — Lattice Graph Materials Intelligence Platform
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