NaCO2

NaCO2 is a wide-band-gap insulating compound containing sodium, carbon, and oxygen that shows potential for experimental synthesis due to its thermodynamic stability.

CNaO
Crystal structure of NaCO2 (monoclinic, P21/c (No. 14))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About NaCO2

NaCO2 is an insulating compound composed of sodium, carbon, and oxygen. As a wide-band-gap material, it exhibits distinct electronic characteristics that make it a subject of interest for fundamental materials science studies. Its structural configuration and chemical nature suggest it occupies a unique space within inorganic chemistry. The compound is characterized by its near-hull thermodynamic stability, indicating that it is a viable candidate for experimental synthesis. With multiple reported structures across various databases, it represents a data-rich material that offers significant opportunities for researchers investigating new solid-state phases.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for NaCO2, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

0.08–3.40 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: insulator

Energy Above Hull

0.001 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Near Hull
3 DFT sources

Structures

9
3 databases, 3 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of NaCO2. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.98 / 1.00
Trust tier: high

Hull Spread

0.006 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for NaCO2, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
——3.400.0010-1.768—
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic3.330.0039-1.634—
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic3.410.0070-6.9942.42
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic0.080.4105-1.228—
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic0.050.4138-6.5871.79
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———2.33
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———2.37
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———2.24
P21/m (No. 11)monoclinic———2.68
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———2.33
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———2.26
P21/c (No. 14)monoclinic———2.34
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about NaCO2, answered from cross-validated data.

What is NaCO2?

NaCO2 is a wide-band-gap insulating compound containing sodium, carbon, and oxygen that shows potential for experimental synthesis due to its thermodynamic stability.

More questions
What is the band gap of NaCO2?
NaCO2 has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.08–3.40 eV across 9 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is NaCO2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a wide band gap of up to 3.40 eV (an insulator or wide-band-gap material).
Is NaCO2 thermodynamically stable?
NaCO2 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.001 eV/atom (near hull).
What is the crystal structure of NaCO2?
The reference structure of NaCO2 is monoclinic symmetry, space group P21/c (No. 14).
How many polymorphs of NaCO2 are known?
9 structures of NaCO2 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 3 distinct space groups.
What elements does NaCO2 contain?
NaCO2 contains C, Na, and O (3 elements).
Where does the data for NaCO2 come from?
NaCO2 data is cross-referenced from oqmd, jarvis, materials_project, cod, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a standalone entry in its current classification, NaCO2 serves as a foundational example of sodium-based carbon-oxygen frameworks. Its near-hull stability distinguishes it as a promising target for synthesis compared to more unstable theoretical phases, positioning it as a key reference point for future studies into similar ternary inorganic systems.

Data sources & attribution
  • 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)
  • 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)
  • 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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