SnH4
stannane · tin tetrahydride
Stannane is a volatile and thermodynamically unstable tin hydride that acts as a wide-gap insulator.
About stannane
Stannane is a volatile inorganic hydride consisting of a central tin atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms. As a wide-gap insulating material, it represents a significant subject of study in high-pressure physics and structural chemistry, where researchers investigate its potential for exotic phases under extreme conditions. Because it is thermodynamically unstable and sits above the convex hull, stannane is typically handled with extreme caution in laboratory settings. Its existence as a transient species makes it a fascinating, albeit challenging, subject for structural prediction and synthesis within the broader family of group 14 hydrides.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for stannane, aggregated across 3 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 SnH4. 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 SnH4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cmcm (No. 63) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.0503 | -7.663 | 3.12 |
| P21/m (No. 11) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.0562 | -7.657 | 3.49 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | monoclinic | 5.43 | 0.1193 | -7.594 | 2.24 |
| P21/m (No. 11) | monoclinic | 0.00 | 0.1293 | 0.128 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.1908 | 0.191 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.1917 | 0.192 | — |
| Ama2 (No. 40) | orthorhombic | 0.00 | 0.2464 | -7.467 | 3.75 |
| — | — | 4.16 | 0.2624 | 0.262 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 0.00 | 0.3794 | -7.334 | 4.64 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.3848 | 0.385 | — |
| — | — | 1.16 | 0.4073 | 0.407 | — |
| — | — | 1.66 | 0.4108 | 0.411 | — |
Applications
Where stannane is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about stannane, answered from cross-validated data.
What is SnH4?
Stannane is a volatile and thermodynamically unstable tin hydride that acts as a wide-gap insulator.
What is SnH4 used for?
What is the band gap of SnH4?
Is SnH4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is SnH4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of SnH4?
What is the density of SnH4?
How many polymorphs of SnH4 are known?
What elements does SnH4 contain?
Where does the data for SnH4 come from?
How It Compares
As a member of the group 14 hydrides, stannane serves as a critical benchmark for understanding the trend of decreasing stability as one moves down the periodic table. Unlike its lighter counterparts, it exhibits a distinct sensitivity to environmental conditions, making it a unique case study in the chemical bonding and structural landscape of heavy metal hydrides.
Data sources & attribution
- 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)
- 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)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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