Nb
Niobium · Columbium
Niobium is a stable, superconducting transition metal widely used to enhance the strength and performance of high-temperature alloys and medical devices.
About Niobium
Niobium is a lustrous, grey transition metal that exhibits robust thermodynamic stability. As a metallic element, it is characterized by its excellent ductility and ability to form protective oxide layers, making it a cornerstone material in high-performance metallurgy.
Its importance stems from its unique electronic properties, which include a transition into a superconducting state at low temperatures. These characteristics make it indispensable for demanding industrial applications where structural integrity and electrical efficiency are paramount.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Niobium, 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 Nb. 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 Nb, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.328 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -24.734 | 8.45 |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.328 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0118 | -24.722 | 8.42 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.0232 | -24.711 | 8.54 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0759 | 0.076 | — |
Applications
Where Niobium is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Niobium, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Nb?
Niobium is a stable, superconducting transition metal widely used to enhance the strength and performance of high-temperature alloys and medical devices.
What is Nb used for?
What is the band gap of Nb?
Is Nb a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Nb thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Nb?
How many polymorphs of Nb are known?
What elements does Nb contain?
Where does the data for Nb come from?
How It Compares
As a pure elemental metal, Niobium serves as a foundational reference point for the study of transition metal behavior, standing as a versatile and reliable material that defines the performance standards for its metallic peers.
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)
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