Mg4Sc2
Mg4Sc2 is a metallic magnesium-scandium alloy that is considered a promising candidate for experimental synthesis due to its favorable thermodynamic stability.
About Mg4Sc2
Mg4Sc2 is a metallic intermetallic compound composed of magnesium and scandium. It is characterized by its distinct electronic structure, which exhibits metallic behavior typical of binary alloys within this chemical family. The material is considered to be near the thermodynamic hull, suggesting that it is a viable candidate for experimental synthesis and structural characterization. With a significant number of reported structures across major databases, it remains a subject of ongoing interest in solid-state chemistry. Its stability and composition make it a notable example of how magnesium and transition metals can form complex, ordered phases. Researchers study this compound to better understand the bonding dynamics and phase formation in light-metal alloy systems.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Mg4Sc2, 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 Mg4Sc2, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmcm (No. 63) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.0059 | -3.212 | 2.24 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.0197 | -3.198 | 2.22 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.0307 | -3.187 | 2.23 |
| Immm (No. 71) | — | — | — | — | — |
| I4/mcm (No. 140) | — | — | — | — | — |
| C2/m (No. 12) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cm (No. 8) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | — | — | — | — | — |
| I4/mmm (No. 139) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | — | — | — | — | — |
Applications
Where Mg4Sc2 is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Mg4Sc2, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Mg4Sc2?
Mg4Sc2 is a metallic magnesium-scandium alloy that is considered a promising candidate for experimental synthesis due to its favorable thermodynamic stability.
What is Mg4Sc2 used for?
What is the band gap of Mg4Sc2?
Is Mg4Sc2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Mg4Sc2 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Mg4Sc2?
What is the density of Mg4Sc2?
How many polymorphs of Mg4Sc2 are known?
What elements does Mg4Sc2 contain?
Where does the data for Mg4Sc2 come from?
How It Compares
As a binary magnesium-scandium intermetallic, this compound serves as a representative example of the structural diversity found in light-metal alloy systems, providing a baseline for understanding how these specific elements interact to form stable, ordered metallic phases.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- aflow — Data from AFLOW. Cite: Curtarolo et al., Comp. Mater. Sci. 58, 218 (2012).
- nomad — Data from NOMAD. Cite: Draxl & Scheffler, J. Phys. Mater. 2, 036001 (2019).
- omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
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