Sm
Samarium · Sm
Samarium is a stable, metallic rare-earth element widely used in the manufacturing of high-performance permanent magnets and specialized alloys.
About Samarium
Samarium is a metallic chemical element belonging to the lanthanide series. It is characterized by its significant structural versatility, as evidenced by the large number of reported crystalline forms, and it maintains high thermodynamic stability in its elemental state.
This metal is highly valued for its unique electronic and magnetic properties. It is primarily utilized in the production of specialized alloys and high-strength permanent magnets that retain their effectiveness even at elevated temperatures.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Samarium, aggregated across 5 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 Sm. 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 Sm, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.026 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.004 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.009 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -29.733 | 7.39 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.009 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.004 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.026 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0038 | 0.004 | — |
| R-3m (No. 166) | trigonal | 0.00 | 0.0047 | -29.728 | 7.35 |
Applications
Where Samarium is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Samarium, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Sm?
Samarium is a stable, metallic rare-earth element widely used in the manufacturing of high-performance permanent magnets and specialized alloys.
What is Sm used for?
What is the band gap of Sm?
Is Sm a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Sm thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Sm?
How many polymorphs of Sm are known?
What elements does Sm contain?
Where does the data for Sm come from?
How It Compares
As a fundamental lanthanide metal, samarium serves as a critical building block in materials science, acting as a primary component in advanced magnetic systems where its specific electronic configuration provides superior performance compared to other rare-earth elements.
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)
- 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)
- 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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