UN2
uranium nitride · uranium dinitride
Uranium nitride is a ceramic compound consisting of uranium and nitrogen. It is primarily investigated for its potential as a high-density nuclear fuel in advanced reactor designs due to its favorable thermal properties.
NU
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for uranium nitride, aggregated across 4 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.
0.69 eV
Range across DFT structures
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.
0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
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.
On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
33
4 databases, 8 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for UN2, 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 | 0.69 | 0.0000 | -34.376 | 12.13 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 11.29 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 9.97 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | Hexagonal | — | — | — | 4.51 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | Hexagonal | — | — | — | 4.84 |
| P6/mmm (No. 191) | Hexagonal | — | — | — | 6.06 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | Cubic | — | — | — | 12.02 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | Cubic | — | — | — | 12.36 |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | Cubic | — | — | — | 12.13 |
| No. 0 | unknown | — | — | — | 6.39 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 10.39 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.46 |
Uses
Applications
Where uranium nitride is used.
nuclear fuel researchadvanced reactor development
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about uranium nitride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is UN2?
Uranium nitride is a ceramic compound consisting of uranium and nitrogen. It is primarily investigated for its potential as a high-density nuclear fuel in advanced reactor designs due to its favorable thermal properties.
More questions
What is UN2 used for?
uranium nitride (UN2) is used in nuclear fuel research and advanced reactor development.
What is the band gap of UN2?
uranium nitride (UN2) has a DFT-computed band gap of 0.69 eV across 33 reported structures.
Is UN2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 0.69 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is UN2 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — uranium nitride (UN2) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of UN2?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of uranium nitride (UN2) is cubic symmetry, space group Fm-3m (No. 225).
What is the density of UN2?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of uranium nitride (UN2) is 12.13 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of UN2 are known?
33 structures of UN2 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 8 distinct space groups.
What elements does UN2 contain?
uranium nitride (UN2) contains N and U (2 elements).
Where does the data for UN2 come from?
UN2 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, cod.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
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