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

0.51–3.94 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: insulator

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Stable
3 DFT sources

Structures

19
3 databases, 3 space groups
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of SmBr3. 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 SmBr3, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
——3.940.0000-2.139—
Cmcm (No. 63)orthorhombic3.020.0000-4.7035.29
Cmcm (No. 63)orthorhombic2.690.0000-1.969—
——3.770.0052-2.134—
——2.870.0176-2.122—
——0.000.0323-2.107—
——3.470.0325-2.107—
——3.720.0356-2.104—
——3.630.0525-2.087—
——3.220.0853-2.054—
——1.800.2523-1.887—
——1.690.5341-1.605—
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 0.51–3.94 eV across 19 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is SmBr3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a wide band gap of up to 3.94 eV (an insulator or 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. stable.
What is the crystal structure of SmBr3?
The reference structure 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?
19 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 oqmd, 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
  • 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)
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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