KO3

potassium ozonide · potassium trioxide

Potassium ozonide is a metastable, semiconducting inorganic compound primarily recognized for its role as a reactive oxygen source.

KO
Crystal structure of KO3 (tetragonal, I4/mcm (No. 140))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About potassium ozonide

Potassium ozonide is a unique inorganic compound characterized by its semiconducting electronic nature. As a metastable species, it represents a reactive and highly specific chemical state within the potassium-oxygen system, drawing significant interest for its complex structural chemistry.

Its importance lies in its role as a powerful oxidizing agent and a potential source of reactive oxygen species. Researchers study this compound to better understand the stability of higher-order oxides and their behavior in controlled chemical environments.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for potassium ozonide, aggregated across 5 databases.

Band Gap

0.50–0.87 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: narrow gap

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Stable
3 DFT sources

Structures

51
5 databases, 10 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of KO3. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.63 / 1.00
Trust tier: medium

Hull Spread

0.093 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

Mixed (most: I4/mcm (No. 140))
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for KO3, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
——0.000.0000-0.881—
——0.000.0008-0.880—
I4/mcm (No. 140)tetragonal0.500.0312-0.735—
Imm2 (No. 44)orthorhombic0.800.0512-0.715—
Imm2 (No. 44)orthorhombic0.870.0933-4.6491.85
I4/mcm (No. 140)tetragonal0.650.0970-4.6452.05
——0.000.97280.092—
——0.001.66460.784—
——0.001.69140.810—
——0.001.70460.824—
Cm (No. 8)monoclinic———1.76
P1 (No. 1)triclinic———1.33
Uses

Applications

Where potassium ozonide is used.

chemical oxygen generationspecialized oxidizing agentsfundamental chemical research
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about potassium ozonide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is KO3?

Potassium ozonide is a metastable, semiconducting inorganic compound primarily recognized for its role as a reactive oxygen source.

More questions
What is KO3 used for?
potassium ozonide (KO3) is used in chemical oxygen generation, specialized oxidizing agents, and fundamental chemical research.
What is the band gap of KO3?
potassium ozonide (KO3) has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.50–0.87 eV across 51 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is KO3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 0.87 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is KO3 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — potassium ozonide (KO3) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. stable.
What is the crystal structure of KO3?
The reference structure of potassium ozonide (KO3) is tetragonal symmetry, space group I4/mcm (No. 140).
How many polymorphs of KO3 are known?
51 structures of KO3 are reported across 5 databases, spanning 10 distinct space groups.
What elements does KO3 contain?
potassium ozonide (KO3) contains K and O (2 elements).
Where does the data for KO3 come from?
KO3 data is cross-referenced from oqmd, jarvis, materials_project, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a distinct member of the alkali metal ozonide family, this compound occupies a specialized niche where structural metastability dictates its reactivity. Unlike more common, highly stable binary oxides, it requires precise conditions to maintain its integrity, serving as a critical subject for fundamental studies on oxygen-rich inorganic frameworks.

Data sources & attribution
  • 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)
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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