O4PbW
lead tungstate · PbWO4
Lead tungstate is a stable, insulating crystalline material primarily valued for its role as a high-performance scintillator in radiation detection.
About lead tungstate
Lead tungstate is a thermodynamically stable oxide that functions as a wide-band-gap insulator. Its ability to efficiently convert high-energy radiation into detectable light makes it a cornerstone material in modern particle physics experiments and medical imaging technology. The compound is characterized by a robust crystalline structure, which has been extensively documented across numerous experimental databases. This structural reliability ensures consistent performance in demanding environments where radiation hardness and optical clarity are paramount.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for lead tungstate, aggregated across 4 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 O4PbW. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.
Only 1 independent DFT source (materials_project) reports a hull energy for O4PbW, so cross-source agreement can't be assessed yet.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for O4PbW, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 2.95 | 0.0000 | -8.131 | 8.32 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 1.71 | 0.0351 | -8.096 | 8.48 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 1.88 | 0.0378 | -8.093 | 8.56 |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 3.03 | 0.0443 | -8.087 | 8.74 |
| I41/a (No. 88) | tetragonal | 3.56 | 0.0509 | -8.080 | 7.96 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | triclinic | 3.59 | 0.0517 | -8.080 | 7.97 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | 3.62 | 0.0541 | -8.077 | 7.92 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | monoclinic | 2.85 | 0.0611 | -8.070 | 8.44 |
| Cmce (No. 64) | orthorhombic | 1.95 | 0.2489 | -7.882 | 9.52 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | triclinic | 0.01 | 5.4298 | -2.701 | 8.44 |
| I41/a (No. 88) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 8.47 |
| I41/a (No. 88) | tetragonal | — | — | — | 8.46 |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting O4PbW.
Applications
Where lead tungstate is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about lead tungstate, answered from cross-validated data.
What is O4PbW?
Lead tungstate is a stable, insulating crystalline material primarily valued for its role as a high-performance scintillator in radiation detection.
What is O4PbW used for?
What is the band gap of O4PbW?
Is O4PbW a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is O4PbW thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of O4PbW?
What is the density of O4PbW?
How many polymorphs of O4PbW are known?
How is O4PbW synthesized?
What elements does O4PbW contain?
Where does the data for O4PbW come from?
How It Compares
As a prominent member of the tungstate family, this compound is recognized for its superior density and fast scintillation decay times, which distinguish it from other heavy metal oxides used in similar high-energy detection applications.
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)
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
- alexandria — Data from Alexandria. Cite: Schmidt et al., npj Comput. Mater. 10, 200 (2024). (CC-BY-4.0)
- nomad — Data from NOMAD (nomad-lab.eu). Cite: Draxl & Scheffler, J. Phys. Mater. 2, 036001 (2019). (CC-BY-4.0)
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