Sm2O3

Samarium(III) oxide · Samaria

Samarium(III) oxide is a stable, insulating rare-earth compound widely used in the production of specialized optical glass and electronic components.

OSm
Crystal structure of Sm2O3 (cubic, Ia-3 (No. 206))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Samarium(III) oxide

Samarium(III) oxide is a robust, thermodynamically stable compound that exists as a wide-gap insulator. Its chemical resilience and electronic properties make it a vital material in the rare-earth oxide family, frequently utilized in high-performance technical fields.

Due to its structural versatility, this compound is highly regarded in research and industrial sectors. It is primarily valued for its ability to modify the refractive index of glass and serve as a precursor for other samarium-based materials.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Samarium(III) oxide, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

1.72–3.94 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

19
3 databases, 8 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for Sm2O3, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Ia-3 (No. 206)cubic3.780.0000-8.7187.08
C2/m (No. 12)monoclinic3.740.0137-8.7047.74
P-3m1 (No. 164)trigonal3.940.0170-8.7017.88
P-4m2 (No. 115)tetragonal1.720.2158-8.5026.69
Pn-3m (No. 224)cubic0.000.4492-8.2697.13
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic7.56
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic3.89
C222 (No. 21)Orthorhombic7.34
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic6.18
Ia-3 (No. 206)
P-3m1 (No. 164)
P-4m2 (No. 115)Tetragonal6.85
Synthesis

Synthesis Routes

Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting Sm2O3.

Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Sol-Gel
Procedure available · ceder_solid_state
Uses

Applications

Where Samarium(III) oxide is used.

Optical glass manufacturingInfrared-absorbing glassDielectric materialsCatalysisControl rods for nuclear reactors
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Samarium(III) oxide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is Sm2O3?

Samarium(III) oxide is a stable, insulating rare-earth compound widely used in the production of specialized optical glass and electronic components.

More questions
What is Sm2O3 used for?
Samarium(III) oxide (Sm2O3) is used in optical glass manufacturing, infrared-absorbing glass, dielectric materials, catalysis, and control rods for nuclear reactors.
What is the band gap of Sm2O3?
Samarium(III) oxide (Sm2O3) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.72–3.94 eV across 19 reported structures.
Is Sm2O3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 3.94 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is Sm2O3 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Samarium(III) oxide (Sm2O3) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of Sm2O3?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Samarium(III) oxide (Sm2O3) is cubic symmetry, space group Ia-3 (No. 206).
What is the density of Sm2O3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Samarium(III) oxide (Sm2O3) is 7.08 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of Sm2O3 are known?
19 structures of Sm2O3 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 8 distinct space groups.
How is Sm2O3 synthesized?
Literature-reported routes for Sm2O3 include sol-gel (2 procedures documented).
What elements does Sm2O3 contain?
Samarium(III) oxide (Sm2O3) contains O and Sm (2 elements).
Where does the data for Sm2O3 come from?
Sm2O3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a prominent member of the rare-earth oxide group, Samarium(III) oxide is recognized for its exceptional thermodynamic stability and structural diversity, positioning it as a reliable standard for insulation and optical applications within this class of materials.

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).

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