Mn
Manganese · alpha-manganese
Manganese is a stable, metallic chemical element widely used as a critical alloying agent to improve the strength and durability of steel and other materials.
About Manganese
Manganese is a fundamental metallic element known for its remarkable structural complexity. It exists as a thermodynamically stable phase, sitting firmly on the convex hull, which underscores its importance as a building block in inorganic chemistry and materials science.
Due to its electronic character as a metal, it is widely utilized for its ability to modify the properties of alloys. Its high degree of structural variety, evidenced by numerous reported experimental configurations, makes it a subject of extensive study for researchers aiming to optimize its performance in various industrial environments.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Manganese, aggregated across 6 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.
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of Mn. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Agreement ScoreA normalized confidence score summarizing how closely independent DFT databases agree. Higher scores mean tighter cross-source agreement.
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for Mn, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-43m (No. 217) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -14.683 | 7.01 |
| P4132 (No. 213) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.045 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.155 | — |
| I41/amd (No. 141) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.636 | — |
| I-43m (No. 217) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.076 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.076 | — |
| P4132 (No. 213) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0399 | -14.643 | 6.05 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0502 | 0.050 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0512 | 0.051 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0525 | 0.052 | — |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting Mn.
Applications
Where Manganese is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Manganese, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Mn?
Manganese is a stable, metallic chemical element widely used as a critical alloying agent to improve the strength and durability of steel and other materials.
What is Mn used for?
What is the band gap of Mn?
Is Mn a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Mn thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Mn?
What is the density of Mn?
How many polymorphs of Mn are known?
How is Mn synthesized?
What elements does Mn contain?
Where does the data for Mn come from?
How It Compares
As a standalone elemental metal, manganese serves as a primary reference point for alloying behavior and transition metal chemistry, providing the foundational structural characteristics that define its utility in complex material systems.
Data sources & attribution
- 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)
- 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)
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