SmBr3

Samarium(III) bromide · Samarium tribromide

Samarium(III) bromide is a stable, insulating rare-earth halide used primarily in chemical research and material synthesis.

BrSm
Crystal structure of SmBr3 (orthorhombic, Cmcm (No. 63))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Samarium(III) bromide

Samarium(III) bromide is a thermodynamically stable inorganic halide that functions as a wide-gap insulator. Its electronic structure and chemical stability make it a significant subject of study within the broader family of rare-earth halides.

Due to its structural versatility, this compound has been documented in multiple configurations across various databases. Its role as a stable insulating material positions it as a useful precursor for specialized chemical syntheses and advanced material research.

At a glance

Key Properties

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

Band Gap

3.02 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

8
3 databases, 3 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for SmBr3, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Cmcm (No. 63)orthorhombic3.020.0000-4.7035.29
Cmcm (No. 63)
P2/m (No. 10)Monoclinic6.43
P2/m (No. 10)Monoclinic5.61
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic5.28
P2/m (No. 10)Monoclinic6.15
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic4.93
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic5.11
Uses

Applications

Where Samarium(III) bromide is used.

Chemical synthesisPrecursor for samarium-based materialsSolid-state research
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

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

What is SmBr3?

Samarium(III) bromide is a stable, insulating rare-earth halide used primarily in chemical research and material synthesis.

More questions
What is SmBr3 used for?
Samarium(III) bromide (SmBr3) is used in chemical synthesis, precursor for samarium-based materials, and solid-state research.
What is the band gap of SmBr3?
Samarium(III) bromide (SmBr3) has a DFT-computed band gap of 3.02 eV across 8 reported structures.
Is SmBr3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 3.02 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is SmBr3 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Samarium(III) bromide (SmBr3) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of SmBr3?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Samarium(III) bromide (SmBr3) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Cmcm (No. 63).
What is the density of SmBr3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Samarium(III) bromide (SmBr3) is 5.29 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of SmBr3 are known?
8 structures of SmBr3 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 3 distinct space groups.
What elements does SmBr3 contain?
Samarium(III) bromide (SmBr3) contains Br and Sm (2 elements).
Where does the data for SmBr3 come from?
SmBr3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, jarvis, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a member of the rare-earth halide family, SmBr3 maintains a high degree of thermodynamic stability, reflecting the robust nature of its crystal lattice. It serves as a representative example of how trivalent lanthanide bromides behave as insulating materials in solid-state applications.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.

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