UF3
uranium trifluoride · uranium(III) fluoride
Uranium trifluoride is a stable, semiconducting compound of uranium and fluorine primarily used in nuclear energy research.
About uranium trifluoride
Uranium trifluoride is a stable inorganic compound consisting of uranium and fluorine. As a semiconducting material, it plays a critical role in the chemistry of actinide halides, serving as a foundational substance for understanding the behavior of uranium in complex chemical environments.
Due to its position on the convex hull, this compound is recognized for its thermodynamic stability. It is primarily utilized in specialized nuclear applications, particularly within the development of molten salt reactor systems where its chemical properties are essential for fuel processing and coolant chemistry.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for uranium trifluoride, 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.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for UF3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P63cm (No. 185) | hexagonal | 0.22 | 0.0000 | -26.323 | 9.11 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | trigonal | 0.08 | 0.1053 | -26.217 | 7.00 |
| I4/mmm (No. 139) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.1429 | -26.180 | 10.11 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.25 | 0.1515 | -26.171 | 9.94 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 9.14 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | — | — | — | — | — |
| P-1 (No. 2) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 8.22 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 8.91 |
| P-3m1 (No. 164) | Trigonal | — | — | — | 7.00 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 7.24 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 6.49 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 11.44 |
Applications
Where uranium trifluoride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about uranium trifluoride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is UF3?
Uranium trifluoride is a stable, semiconducting compound of uranium and fluorine primarily used in nuclear energy research.
What is UF3 used for?
What is the band gap of UF3?
Is UF3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is UF3 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of UF3?
What is the density of UF3?
How many polymorphs of UF3 are known?
What elements does UF3 contain?
Where does the data for UF3 come from?
How It Compares
As a primary fluoride of uranium, this compound serves as a fundamental reference point for actinide halide chemistry. It represents a stable, semiconducting phase that provides essential data for modeling the behavior of nuclear materials under extreme conditions.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
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