SnO
tin(II) oxide · stannous oxide
SnO is a thermodynamically stable semiconducting oxide used primarily as a high-capacity anode material in advanced battery research.
About tin(II) oxide
SnO is a semiconducting binary oxide that occupies a stable position on the thermodynamic convex hull. As a member of the conversion oxide anode class, it is highly valued for its ability to facilitate high-capacity electrochemical reactions through the reversible formation and decomposition of metallic tin phases.
This material is a subject of extensive research due to its significant structural diversity, with hundreds of reported configurations across major databases. Its electronic nature and structural stability make it a compelling candidate for advanced battery technologies seeking to surpass the limitations of conventional intercalation materials.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for tin(II) oxide, 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 SnO. 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 SnO, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P4/nmm (No. 129) | tetragonal | 0.41 | 0.0000 | -6.108 | 6.29 |
| P4/nmm (No. 129) | tetragonal | 0.38 | 0.0000 | -1.440 | — |
| — | — | 0.21 | 0.0000 | -1.537 | — |
| Cmce (No. 64) | orthorhombic | 0.52 | 0.0008 | -6.108 | 5.84 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0013 | -1.536 | — |
| P4/nmm (No. 129) | tetragonal | 0.51 | 0.0108 | -1.429 | — |
| P4/nmm (No. 129) | tetragonal | 0.51 | 0.0109 | -1.429 | — |
| — | — | 1.50 | 0.0204 | -1.517 | — |
| — | — | 1.60 | 0.0532 | -1.484 | — |
| — | — | 1.23 | 0.0686 | -1.468 | — |
| Pmn21 (No. 31) | orthorhombic | 1.34 | 0.0714 | -6.037 | 5.57 |
| Pmn21 (No. 31) | orthorhombic | 1.92 | 0.0856 | -1.354 | — |
Applications
Where tin(II) oxide is used.
Patent Landscape
9 patents reference SnO or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4695330 | Method of manufacturing internal oxidized Ag-SnO system alloy contact materials | — | — |
| 5102480 | Ag-SnO-CdO electrical contact materials and manufacturing method thereof | — | — |
| 4647322 | Internal oxidized Ag-SnO system alloy electrical contact materials | — | — |
| 4680162 | Method for preparing Ag-SnO system alloy electrical contact material | — | — |
| 4243413 | Integrated Ag-SnO alloy electrical contact materials | — | — |
| 5078810 | Method of making Ag-SnO contact materials by high pressure internal oxidation | — | — |
| 8603418 | Process for making SnO | — | — |
| 8974752 | Process for treating crusty SnO | — | — |
| 8501293 | Plurality of SnO flakes | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about tin(II) oxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is SnO?
SnO is a thermodynamically stable semiconducting oxide used primarily as a high-capacity anode material in advanced battery research.
What is SnO used for?
What is the band gap of SnO?
Is SnO a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is SnO thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of SnO?
What is the density of SnO?
How many polymorphs of SnO are known?
What elements does SnO contain?
Where does the data for SnO come from?
How It Compares
Within the conversion oxide anodes class.
Within the family of conversion oxide anodes, SnO offers a distinct electrochemical profile compared to siblings like SnO2. While both are tin-based, SnO provides a different pathway for lithiation, and it stands out among transition metal oxides like CuO or Fe2O3 by leveraging the unique alloying chemistry of tin to achieve high theoretical capacities.
Related Compounds
Other Conversion Oxide Anodes in the database.
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)
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