OsO4
Osmium tetroxide · Osmium(VIII) oxide
Osmium tetroxide is a highly reactive inorganic compound known for its ability to stain biological tissues and catalyze chemical reactions. It is primarily utilized in laboratory settings for microscopy preparation and as a specialized reagent in organic synthesis.
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.
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 | 3.16 | 0.0000 | -7.733 | 5.17 |
| 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 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 7.33 |
| Cmmm (No. 65) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.26 |
| Cmmm (No. 65) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.34 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 8.98 |
| P4mm (No. 99) | Tetragonal | — | — | — | 6.67 |
| Imm2 (No. 44) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.59 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | — | — | — | — | — |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 6.98 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 7.43 |
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 highly reactive inorganic compound known for its ability to stain biological tissues and catalyze chemical reactions. It is primarily utilized in laboratory settings for microscopy preparation and as a specialized reagent in organic synthesis.
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?
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
Analyze OsO4 in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 53 integrated data sources.
Explore the Platform →