RbTe

RbTe is a stable semiconducting material formed from rubidium and tellurium that is widely documented in structural databases.

RbTe
Crystal structure of RbTe (orthorhombic, Pbam (No. 55))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About RbTe

RbTe is a binary semiconducting compound composed of rubidium and tellurium. As a thermodynamically stable phase located on the convex hull, it represents a robust structural arrangement of these elements that remains a subject of interest in solid-state chemistry.

The material is characterized by a high degree of structural diversity, with numerous reported configurations across multiple databases. This extensive data availability makes it a significant subject for researchers investigating the interplay between alkali metals and chalcogens in semiconductor physics.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for RbTe, aggregated across 5 databases.

Band Gap

0.44–3.20 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: narrow gap

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Stable
4 DFT sources

Structures

90
5 databases, 16 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

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

Agreement Score

1.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: high

Hull Spread

0.000 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 RbTe, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Pbam (No. 55)orthorhombic0.860.0000-0.935—
Pbam (No. 55)orthorhombic0.830.0000-3.1114.39
——0.580.0000-0.847—
P-62m (No. 189)hexagonal0.440.0004-3.1103.65
——0.000.0214-0.825—
——0.960.0260-0.821—
P-62m (No. 189)hexagonal0.440.0352-0.900—
——0.000.1749-0.672—
——0.000.2980-0.549—
P-6m2 (No. 187)hexagonal0.000.3103-0.625—
——0.000.3625-0.484—
——0.000.3639-0.483—
Uses

Applications

Where RbTe is used.

Solid-state researchSemiconductor physics studiesMaterials science modeling
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

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

What is RbTe?

RbTe is a stable semiconducting material formed from rubidium and tellurium that is widely documented in structural databases.

More questions
What is RbTe used for?
RbTe is used in solid-state research, semiconductor physics studies, and materials science modeling.
What is the band gap of RbTe?
RbTe has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.44–3.20 eV across 90 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is RbTe a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a wide band gap of up to 3.20 eV (an insulator or wide-band-gap material).
Is RbTe thermodynamically stable?
Yes — RbTe sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. stable.
What is the crystal structure of RbTe?
The reference structure of RbTe is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Pbam (No. 55).
How many polymorphs of RbTe are known?
90 structures of RbTe are reported across 5 databases, spanning 16 distinct space groups.
What elements does RbTe contain?
RbTe contains Rb and Te (2 elements).
Where does the data for RbTe come from?
RbTe data is cross-referenced from jarvis, materials_project, oqmd, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a distinct binary phase, RbTe serves as a foundational example of alkali-telluride chemistry, providing a stable reference point for understanding the electronic and structural trends within this specific chemical family.

Data sources & attribution
  • 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)
  • 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)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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