Mg12O36Si8
Enstatite · Magnesium silicate, MgSiO3
Enstatite is a common magnesium-rich silicate mineral that belongs to the pyroxene group. It is frequently found in igneous and metamorphic rocks and serves as a significant component in various geological studies and industrial ceramic applications.
MgOSi
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Enstatite, 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.
0.54 eV
Range across DFT structures
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.
0.304 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
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.
Above hull
1 DFT source
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
14
3 databases, 10 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Mg12O36Si8, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| C2/c (No. 15) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.3038 | -6.762 | 2.46 |
| P31m (No. 157) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.3162 | -6.750 | 2.41 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.3162 | -6.750 | 2.38 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.3165 | -6.749 | 2.44 |
| Cc (No. 9) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.3167 | -6.749 | 2.40 |
| P63cm (No. 185) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.3168 | -6.749 | 2.46 |
| P31 (No. 144) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.3203 | -6.745 | 2.47 |
| P63 (No. 173) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.3209 | -6.745 | 2.52 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | 0.00 | 0.4367 | -6.629 | 2.40 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | 0.54 | 0.5843 | -6.481 | 1.15 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 2.40 |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 1.28 |
Uses
Applications
Where Enstatite is used.
Ceramic manufacturingGeological researchRefractory materialsGemstone industry
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Enstatite, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Mg12O36Si8?
Enstatite is a common magnesium-rich silicate mineral that belongs to the pyroxene group. It is frequently found in igneous and metamorphic rocks and serves as a significant component in various geological studies and industrial ceramic applications.
More questions
What is Mg12O36Si8 used for?
Enstatite (Mg12O36Si8) is used in ceramic manufacturing, geological research, refractory materials, and gemstone industry.
What is the band gap of Mg12O36Si8?
Enstatite (Mg12O36Si8) has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.54 eV across 14 reported structures.
Is Mg12O36Si8 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 0.54 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is Mg12O36Si8 thermodynamically stable?
Enstatite (Mg12O36Si8) has a lowest energy above hull of 0.304 eV/atom (above hull).
What is the crystal structure of Mg12O36Si8?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Enstatite (Mg12O36Si8) is monoclinic symmetry, space group C2/c (No. 15).
What is the density of Mg12O36Si8?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Enstatite (Mg12O36Si8) is 2.46 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Mg12O36Si8 are known?
14 structures of Mg12O36Si8 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 10 distinct space groups.
What elements does Mg12O36Si8 contain?
Enstatite (Mg12O36Si8) contains Mg, O, and Si (3 elements).
Where does the data for Mg12O36Si8 come from?
Mg12O36Si8 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, omat24, cod.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
Analyze Mg12O36Si8 in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 53 integrated data sources.
Explore the Platform →