NaAlO2
Sodium aluminate · Sodium meta-aluminate
NaAlO2 is a stable, insulating oxide commonly used as a chemical intermediate in water treatment, paper manufacturing, and catalyst synthesis.
About Sodium aluminate
NaAlO2 is a thermodynamically stable oxide that belongs to the perovskite-related class of materials. Characterized by its wide-gap insulating electronic nature, this compound maintains structural integrity under standard conditions and is recognized for its significant chemical versatility. It serves as a key inorganic building block in various synthetic and industrial processes, benefiting from its reliable stability and predictable reactivity. Its role as a fundamental oxide makes it a subject of interest for researchers studying structural phase transitions and material synthesis. Beyond its core chemical properties, it is widely utilized in water treatment facilities for its ability to act as a coagulant and in the paper industry as a sizing agent. Its presence in diverse manufacturing sectors highlights its importance as a robust and essential chemical intermediate.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Sodium aluminate, 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.
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 NaAlO2. 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 NaAlO2, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pna21 (No. 33) | orthorhombic | 4.14 | 0.0000 | -2.826 | — |
| — | — | 4.13 | 0.0000 | -2.827 | — |
| Pna21 (No. 33) | orthorhombic | 3.80 | 0.0000 | -6.675 | 2.79 |
| — | — | 3.98 | 0.0023 | -2.825 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 5.07 | 0.0176 | -2.809 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 5.31 | 0.0313 | -2.795 | — |
| — | — | 5.22 | 0.0638 | -2.763 | — |
| — | — | 5.25 | 0.0642 | -2.763 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 4.73 | 0.0650 | -6.610 | 3.49 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0742 | -2.753 | — |
| — | — | 1.65 | 0.2742 | -2.553 | — |
| — | — | 4.48 | 0.3039 | -2.523 | — |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting NaAlO2.
Applications
Where Sodium aluminate is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Sodium aluminate, answered from cross-validated data.
What is NaAlO2?
NaAlO2 is a stable, insulating oxide commonly used as a chemical intermediate in water treatment, paper manufacturing, and catalyst synthesis.
What is NaAlO2 used for?
What is the band gap of NaAlO2?
Is NaAlO2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is NaAlO2 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of NaAlO2?
How many polymorphs of NaAlO2 are known?
How is NaAlO2 synthesized?
What elements does NaAlO2 contain?
Where does the data for NaAlO2 come from?
How It Compares
Within the perovskite oxides class.
Unlike the complex transition-metal perovskites such as LaNiO3, LaMnO3, or BiFeO3, which are often studied for their magnetic and electronic switching properties, NaAlO2 is a simpler, wide-gap insulator. While compounds like BaTiO3 are famous for their ferroelectric behavior, NaAlO2 is valued more for its stability and chemical reactivity in aqueous environments, positioning it as a functional material rather than an active electronic component.
Related Compounds
Other Perovskite Oxides 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)
- 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)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
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