Sn
tin · white tin, beta-tin
Tin is a stable, semiconducting elemental metal that is essential for diverse industrial applications ranging from protective coatings to advanced electronics.
About tin
Tin is a versatile elemental metal that occupies a unique position in materials science due to its semiconducting electronic character. As a thermodynamically stable phase, it maintains structural integrity under standard conditions, making it a reliable component in various industrial processes.
Its prevalence is underscored by extensive structural characterization across numerous databases. This depth of data highlights its importance as a foundational material for alloying and surface engineering, where its chemical stability and physical properties are highly valued.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for tin, aggregated across 7 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 Sn. 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 Sn, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.064 | — |
| I41/amd (No. 141) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.023 | — |
| I4/mmm (No. 139) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.063 | — |
| I41/amd (No. 141) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.023 | — |
| I4/mmm (No. 139) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.063 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.075 | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | -24.746 | 5.56 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| I41/amd (No. 141) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.023 | — |
| I4/mmm (No. 139) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.063 | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.000 | — |
| Im-3m (No. 229) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0000 | 0.075 | — |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting Sn.
Applications
Where tin is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about tin, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Sn?
Tin is a stable, semiconducting elemental metal that is essential for diverse industrial applications ranging from protective coatings to advanced electronics.
What is Sn used for?
What is the band gap of Sn?
Is Sn a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Sn thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Sn?
How many polymorphs of Sn are known?
How is Sn synthesized?
What elements does Sn contain?
Where does the data for Sn come from?
How It Compares
As a fundamental elemental material, tin serves as a primary reference point for metallic and semiconducting systems, providing the baseline behavior for many complex alloys and binary compounds in the broader materials landscape.
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)
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