Tb2O3
Terbium(III) oxide · Terbium sesquioxide
Terbium(III) oxide is a stable, insulating rare-earth compound widely used as a precursor in optical and electronic material synthesis.
About Terbium(III) oxide
Terbium(III) oxide is a stable binary compound characterized by its insulating electronic nature and wide-band-gap profile. As a sesquioxide, it serves as a foundational material in the study of lanthanide chemistry, valued for its structural versatility across multiple crystalline phases.
Its thermodynamic stability on the convex hull makes it a robust candidate for high-performance applications. The compound is frequently utilized in specialized optics and as a precursor for developing advanced electronic components that require stable dielectric properties.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Terbium(III) 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 Tb2O3. 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 Tb2O3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 4.09 | 0.0000 | -3.560 | — |
| Ia-3 (No. 206) | cubic | 4.03 | 0.0000 | -3.804 | — |
| Ia-3 (No. 206) | cubic | 3.90 | 0.0000 | -8.806 | 8.01 |
| — | — | 4.18 | 0.0126 | -3.548 | — |
| C2/m (No. 12) | monoclinic | 4.03 | 0.0172 | -3.787 | — |
| C2/m (No. 12) | monoclinic | 3.94 | 0.0249 | -8.781 | 8.72 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | trigonal | 4.21 | 0.0312 | -3.772 | — |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | trigonal | 4.13 | 0.0392 | -8.767 | 8.87 |
| — | — | 4.18 | 0.0401 | -3.520 | — |
| — | — | 4.34 | 0.0564 | -3.504 | — |
| — | — | 2.37 | 0.1332 | -3.427 | — |
| — | — | 4.23 | 0.1566 | -3.404 | — |
Applications
Where Terbium(III) oxide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Terbium(III) oxide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Tb2O3?
Terbium(III) oxide is a stable, insulating rare-earth compound widely used as a precursor in optical and electronic material synthesis.
What is Tb2O3 used for?
What is the band gap of Tb2O3?
Is Tb2O3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Tb2O3 thermodynamically stable?
How many polymorphs of Tb2O3 are known?
What elements does Tb2O3 contain?
Where does the data for Tb2O3 come from?
How It Compares
As a primary lanthanide sesquioxide, Tb2O3 occupies a central role in the family of rare-earth oxides. It is recognized for its significant structural diversity, with numerous reported configurations that allow for precise tuning of its physical properties for specific technological requirements.
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)
- 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)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
Analyze Tb2O3 in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 85 source databases.
Explore the Platform →