MgN8

MgN8 is a semiconducting magnesium-nitrogen compound that is currently studied for its potential high-energy properties.

MgN
Crystal structure of MgN8 (tetragonal, I4/m (No. 87))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About MgN8

MgN8 is a nitrogen-rich magnesium compound that exhibits semiconducting electronic behavior. Its composition, characterized by a high nitrogen-to-metal ratio, places it in a specialized category of materials often investigated for their potential as high-energy density candidates.

Due to its position above the thermodynamic hull, this compound is considered metastable or unstable under ambient conditions. Despite this, it remains a subject of interest in computational materials science, with multiple structural configurations identified across various databases.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for MgN8, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

0.77 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

1.396 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Above hull
2 DFT sources

Structures

4
3 databases, 1 space group
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for MgN8, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
I4/m (No. 87)tetragonal0.771.3962-7.3561.31
I4/m (No. 87)
1.26
1.48
Uses

Applications

Where MgN8 is used.

High-energy density material researchComputational materials science modeling
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about MgN8, answered from cross-validated data.

What is MgN8?

MgN8 is a semiconducting magnesium-nitrogen compound that is currently studied for its potential high-energy properties.

More questions
What is MgN8 used for?
MgN8 is used in high-energy density material research and computational materials science modeling.
What is the band gap of MgN8?
MgN8 has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.77 eV across 4 reported structures.
Is MgN8 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 0.77 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is MgN8 thermodynamically stable?
MgN8 has a lowest energy above hull of 1.396 eV/atom (above hull).
What is the crystal structure of MgN8?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of MgN8 is tetragonal symmetry, space group I4/m (No. 87).
What is the density of MgN8?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of MgN8 is 1.31 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of MgN8 are known?
4 structures of MgN8 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 1 distinct space group.
What elements does MgN8 contain?
MgN8 contains Mg and N (2 elements).
Where does the data for MgN8 come from?
MgN8 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, jarvis, omat24.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a unique nitrogen-rich system, MgN8 serves as an intriguing case study for the stability limits of metal-nitrogen frameworks. Without direct structural siblings, it functions as a standalone example of the challenges involved in synthesizing and stabilizing nitrogen-heavy inorganic compounds.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
  • omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).

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