OsO4
Osmium tetroxide · osmic acid
Osmium tetroxide is a stable, insulating inorganic compound widely utilized as a potent oxidizing agent and a vital staining reagent in electron microscopy.
About Osmium tetroxide
Osmium tetroxide is a highly distinctive inorganic oxide characterized by its insulating electronic nature and exceptional thermodynamic stability. It exists as a volatile solid that plays a critical role in specialized chemical processes due to its ability to interact selectively with organic structures.
This compound is widely valued in laboratory settings for its utility in staining biological samples and facilitating specific oxidation reactions. Its position on the convex hull underscores its structural reliability, making it a foundational reagent in advanced analytical and synthetic chemistry.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Osmium tetroxide, 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 OsO4. 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 OsO4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| I-42m (No. 121) | tetragonal | 3.38 | 0.0000 | -7.733 | 5.17 |
| — | — | 3.21 | 0.0000 | -1.265 | — |
| C2/c (No. 15) | monoclinic | 3.15 | 0.0000 | -1.008 | — |
| C2/c (No. 15) | monoclinic | 3.29 | 0.0008 | -7.732 | 5.39 |
| C2 (No. 5) | monoclinic | 3.25 | 0.0015 | -7.732 | 4.39 |
| I-42m (No. 121) | tetragonal | 3.07 | 0.0045 | -1.003 | — |
| — | — | 1.56 | 0.1596 | -1.106 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.6338 | -0.632 | — |
| C2 (No. 5) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.14 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 8.98 |
| C2 (No. 5) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 7.45 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 7.33 |
Applications
Where Osmium tetroxide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Osmium tetroxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is OsO4?
Osmium tetroxide is a stable, insulating inorganic compound widely utilized as a potent oxidizing agent and a vital staining reagent in electron microscopy.
What is OsO4 used for?
What is the band gap of OsO4?
Is OsO4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is OsO4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of OsO4?
What is the density of OsO4?
How many polymorphs of OsO4 are known?
What elements does OsO4 contain?
Where does the data for OsO4 come from?
How It Compares
As a singular, highly specialized oxide, osmium tetroxide stands apart from typical structural ceramics or semiconductors due to its unique volatility and potent reactivity. It serves as a benchmark for heavy-metal oxides used in precision staining and catalytic 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)
- 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)
- 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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