La2NiO4

lanthanum nickelate · LNO

La2NiO4 is a semiconducting lanthanum nickel oxide used primarily as a catalyst for oxygen-evolution reactions in electrochemical systems.

Crystal structure of La2NiO4 (orthorhombic, Cmce (No. 64))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About lanthanum nickelate

La2NiO4 is a semiconducting oxide that functions as a key material in the field of oxygen-evolution catalysis. Its unique electronic configuration and metastable nature make it a subject of significant interest for researchers aiming to optimize catalytic efficiency in electrochemical devices. The material is characterized by a high degree of structural diversity, as evidenced by the numerous reported configurations found in scientific databases. This versatility allows it to be tuned for specific catalytic environments, bridging the gap between fundamental solid-state chemistry and practical energy conversion applications.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for lanthanum nickelate, aggregated across 5 databases.

Band Gap

0.53–2.19 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: narrow gap

Energy Above Hull

0.043 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Metastable
3 DFT sources

Structures

48
5 databases, 5 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of La2NiO4. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.97 / 1.00
Trust tier: high

Hull Spread

0.007 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

Mixed (most: Cmce (No. 64))
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for La2NiO4, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
——1.480.0435-2.963—
——1.490.0448-2.962—
P42/ncm (No. 138)tetragonal0.000.0482-8.1326.81
Cmce (No. 64)orthorhombic0.000.0501-8.1306.84
Cmce (No. 64)orthorhombic0.000.0505-2.879—
P42/ncm (No. 138)tetragonal0.000.0505-2.879—
I4/mmm (No. 139)tetragonal0.000.0508-2.879—
I4/mmm (No. 139)tetragonal0.000.0508-2.879—
I4/mmm (No. 139)tetragonal0.000.0508-2.879—
I4/mmm (No. 139)tetragonal0.000.0508-2.879—
I4/mmm (No. 139)tetragonal0.000.0509-2.879—
I4/mmm (No. 139)tetragonal0.000.0509-2.879—
Synthesis

Synthesis Routes

Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting La2NiO4.

Sol Gel
Procedure available · ceder_sol_gel
Sol Gel
Procedure available · ceder_sol_gel
Sol Gel
Procedure available · ceder_sol_gel
Sol Gel
Procedure available · ceder_sol_gel
Sol Gel
Procedure available · ceder_sol_gel
Sol Gel
Procedure available · ceder_sol_gel
Uses

Applications

Where lanthanum nickelate is used.

Oxygen-evolution catalysisSolid oxide fuel cellsElectrochemical energy conversion
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about lanthanum nickelate, answered from cross-validated data.

What is La2NiO4?

La2NiO4 is a semiconducting lanthanum nickel oxide used primarily as a catalyst for oxygen-evolution reactions in electrochemical systems.

More questions
What is La2NiO4 used for?
lanthanum nickelate (La2NiO4) is used in oxygen-evolution catalysis, solid oxide fuel cells, and electrochemical energy conversion.
What is the band gap of La2NiO4?
lanthanum nickelate (La2NiO4) has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.53–2.19 eV across 48 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is La2NiO4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 2.19 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is La2NiO4 thermodynamically stable?
lanthanum nickelate (La2NiO4) has a lowest energy above hull of 0.043 eV/atom (metastable).
What is the crystal structure of La2NiO4?
The reference structure of lanthanum nickelate (La2NiO4) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Cmce (No. 64).
What is the density of La2NiO4?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of lanthanum nickelate (La2NiO4) is 6.84 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of La2NiO4 are known?
48 structures of La2NiO4 are reported across 5 databases, spanning 5 distinct space groups.
How is La2NiO4 synthesized?
Literature-reported routes for La2NiO4 include sol gel (10 procedures documented).
What elements does La2NiO4 contain?
lanthanum nickelate (La2NiO4) contains La, Ni, and O (3 elements).
Where does the data for La2NiO4 come from?
La2NiO4 data is cross-referenced from oqmd, materials_project, jarvis, cod.
Comparison

How It Compares

Within the oxide oxygen-evolution catalysts class.

Within the broad class of oxide oxygen-evolution catalysts, La2NiO4 occupies a distinct position compared to perovskite-related structures like LaNiO3 or LaMnO3. While many of its siblings exhibit highly stable, symmetric crystal lattices, La2NiO4 often presents as a metastable phase that offers unique surface reactivity. This makes it a compelling alternative to more conventional transition metal oxides like NiO or layered lithium-based oxides such as LiCoO2, particularly in applications where specific surface oxygen exchange kinetics are required.

Explore

Related Compounds

Other Oxide Oxygen-Evolution Catalysts in the database.

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)
  • 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)
  • cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)

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