KTe

KTe is a stable semiconducting material composed of potassium and tellurium.

KTe
Crystal structure of KTe (hexagonal, P63/mmc (No. 194))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About KTe

KTe is a binary compound consisting of potassium and tellurium that exhibits semiconducting electronic characteristics. As a thermodynamically stable phase located on the convex hull, it represents a robust configuration of these elements that is well-represented in structural databases.

Its significance lies in its stability and the specific electronic properties afforded by its composition. Researchers utilize this compound to investigate the fundamental interactions between alkali metals and chalcogens in solid-state systems.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for KTe, aggregated across 6 databases.

Band Gap

0.20–3.25 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: narrow gap

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Stable
4 DFT sources

Structures

100
6 databases, 22 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

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

Agreement Score

1.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: high

Hull Spread

0.000 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

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

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
P63/mmc (No. 194)hexagonal0.670.0000-16.7313.28
P63/mmc (No. 194)hexagonal0.630.0000-0.909—
——0.390.0000-0.845—
——0.780.0004-0.845—
P-62m (No. 189)hexagonal0.210.0035-16.7283.20
P-62m (No. 189)hexagonal0.200.0109-0.898—
——0.000.0182-0.827—
——0.000.1292-0.716—
——0.000.2501-0.595—
——0.000.3033-0.542—
——0.000.3072-0.538—
P-6m2 (No. 187)hexagonal0.000.3326-0.576—
Uses

Applications

Where KTe is used.

Solid-state researchMaterials science studiesElectronic property investigation
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about KTe, answered from cross-validated data.

What is KTe?

KTe is a stable semiconducting material composed of potassium and tellurium.

More questions
What is KTe used for?
KTe is used in solid-state research, materials science studies, and electronic property investigation.
What is the band gap of KTe?
KTe has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.20–3.25 eV across 100 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is KTe a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a wide band gap of up to 3.25 eV (an insulator or wide-band-gap material).
Is KTe thermodynamically stable?
Yes — KTe sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. stable.
What is the crystal structure of KTe?
The reference structure of KTe is hexagonal symmetry, space group P63/mmc (No. 194).
What is the density of KTe?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of KTe is 3.28 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of KTe are known?
100 structures of KTe are reported across 6 databases, spanning 22 distinct space groups.
What elements does KTe contain?
KTe contains K and Te (2 elements).
Where does the data for KTe come from?
KTe data is cross-referenced from materials_project, jarvis, oqmd, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a stable binary phase, KTe serves as a foundational example of potassium-telluride chemistry, providing a benchmark for understanding the structural diversity and electronic behavior of similar alkali-chalcogenide systems.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (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)
  • 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)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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