Mg3Sb
Mg3Sb is a metastable metallic intermetallic compound formed from magnesium and antimony that exhibits a high degree of structural complexity.
About Mg3Sb
Mg3Sb is a metallic compound composed of magnesium and antimony. It exists as a metastable phase, reflecting the complex chemical landscape of the magnesium-antimony binary system where multiple structural arrangements are possible.
Due to its metallic electronic character, this material is of significant interest for researchers investigating charge transport and phase stability. With dozens of reported structural configurations across various databases, it serves as a critical case study for understanding polymorphism in intermetallic systems.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Mg3Sb, aggregated across 4 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.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Mg3Sb, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pm-3m (No. 221) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0737 | -2.449 | 3.49 |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.1075 | -2.415 | 3.50 |
| I4/mmm (No. 139) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.1084 | -2.414 | 3.50 |
| Pmm2 (No. 25) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.1809 | -2.342 | 3.41 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.2037 | -2.319 | 3.32 |
| Imm2 (No. 44) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.2109 | -2.312 | 3.44 |
| P-6m2 (No. 187) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.2568 | -2.266 | 3.33 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.25 |
| — | — | — | — | — | 3.35 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 3.23 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 3.47 |
| Pmm2 (No. 25) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 3.41 |
Applications
Where Mg3Sb is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Mg3Sb, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Mg3Sb?
Mg3Sb is a metastable metallic intermetallic compound formed from magnesium and antimony that exhibits a high degree of structural complexity.
What is Mg3Sb used for?
What is the band gap of Mg3Sb?
Is Mg3Sb a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Mg3Sb thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Mg3Sb?
What is the density of Mg3Sb?
How many polymorphs of Mg3Sb are known?
What elements does Mg3Sb contain?
Where does the data for Mg3Sb come from?
How It Compares
As a metastable metallic phase, Mg3Sb represents a unique structural variant within the magnesium-antimony family, illustrating how subtle changes in atomic arrangement can influence the stability and electronic properties of binary intermetallics.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
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