NaAlH4
NaAlH4 has a DFT band gap of 2.23–4.87 eV across 14 reported structures in 3 space groups; its reference structure is tetragonal (I41/a (No. 88)). Cross-validated across 3 computational databases.
At a glance
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for NaAlH4, 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.
2.23–4.87 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: insulator
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.
0.000 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.
Stable
3 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
14
3 databases, 3 space groups
Validation
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of NaAlH4. 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.
1.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: high
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
0.000 eV
EAH spread across sources
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
All match
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for NaAlH4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I41/a (No. 88) | tetragonal | 4.87 | 0.0000 | -0.241 | — |
| I41/a (No. 88) | tetragonal | 4.67 | 0.0000 | -4.232 | 1.34 |
| — | — | 4.66 | 0.0000 | -0.149 | — |
| — | — | 4.87 | 0.0124 | -0.137 | — |
| — | — | 2.30 | 0.0184 | -0.131 | — |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 1.87 | 0.0221 | -4.210 | 1.48 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 2.23 | 0.0262 | -0.215 | — |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | orthorhombic | 2.23 | 0.0262 | -0.215 | — |
| — | — | 3.67 | 0.0694 | -0.080 | — |
| P4/mmm (No. 123) | tetragonal | 2.38 | 0.0827 | -0.158 | — |
| I41/a (No. 88) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 1.25 |
| I41/a (No. 88) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 1.32 |
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about NaAlH4, answered from cross-validated data.
What is the band gap of NaAlH4?
NaAlH4 has a DFT-computed band gap of 2.23–4.87 eV across 14 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
More questions
Is NaAlH4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a wide band gap of up to 4.87 eV (an insulator or wide-band-gap material).
Is NaAlH4 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — NaAlH4 sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. stable.
What is the crystal structure of NaAlH4?
The reference structure of NaAlH4 is tetragonal symmetry, space group I41/a (No. 88).
How many polymorphs of NaAlH4 are known?
14 structures of NaAlH4 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 3 distinct space groups.
What elements does NaAlH4 contain?
NaAlH4 contains Al, H, and Na (3 elements).
Where does the data for NaAlH4 come from?
NaAlH4 data is cross-referenced from jarvis, materials_project, oqmd, cod, mpaloe.
Explore
Related Compounds
Other Hydrogen Storage Hydrides in the database.
Data sources & attribution
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- 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)
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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