La
Lanthanum · La
Lanthanum is a stable, reactive metallic element that is essential for producing high-quality optical glass and advanced industrial catalysts.
About Lanthanum
Lanthanum is a soft, silvery-white metallic element that serves as the archetype for the lanthanide series. It is characterized by its distinct metallic electronic structure and is known for being thermodynamically stable, allowing it to exist reliably in various structural configurations. Its chemical behavior is defined by its reactivity and its ability to form stable oxides and intermetallic compounds. This versatility makes it an essential component in modern materials science, particularly in the development of advanced alloys and optical materials. It is frequently utilized in the production of high-refractive-index glass, which is critical for camera lenses and other precision optical instruments. Furthermore, its role in hydrogen storage technologies and as a catalyst in petroleum refining highlights its industrial importance. The element is also a key ingredient in the manufacturing of specialized carbon lighting and certain types of batteries.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Lanthanum, aggregated across 6 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 La. 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 La, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -29.745 | 6.14 |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.132 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.003 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.117 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0129 | 0.013 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0130 | 0.013 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0141 | 0.014 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0184 | 0.018 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0194 | -29.725 | 6.12 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0205 | 0.020 | — |
Applications
Where Lanthanum is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Lanthanum, answered from cross-validated data.
What is La?
Lanthanum is a stable, reactive metallic element that is essential for producing high-quality optical glass and advanced industrial catalysts.
What is La used for?
What is the band gap of La?
Is La a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is La thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of La?
How many polymorphs of La are known?
What elements does La contain?
Where does the data for La come from?
How It Compares
As a foundational metallic element, Lanthanum acts as the primary reference point for the lanthanide group, setting the standard for the chemical and physical properties observed in its heavier rare-earth counterparts.
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)
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