V2CuS4
V2CuS4 is a metastable, semimetallic ternary sulfide containing vanadium and copper that is primarily used in fundamental materials research.

About V2CuS4
V2CuS4 is a complex sulfide compound composed of vanadium, copper, and sulfur. As a metastable material, it represents a synthetic challenge, existing in a state that requires precise conditions to maintain its structural integrity. Its electronic character is defined as near-zero-gap, placing it in the semimetallic regime where it exhibits behavior bridging the gap between metallic conductors and semiconductors.
This compound is of significant interest to materials scientists investigating the interplay between transition metals and chalcogens. Because it is a data-rich material with multiple reported structures, it serves as a valuable subject for computational modeling and fundamental studies into the electronic properties of ternary vanadium-copper sulfides.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for V2CuS4, 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.
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 V2CuS4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 0.07 | 0.0684 | -6.599 | 4.06 |
| I-4m2 (No. 119) | tetragonal | 0.00 | 0.0749 | -6.592 | 4.07 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0789 | -6.588 | 4.05 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | — | — | — | — | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | — | — | — | 1.03 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | Cubic | — | — | — | 4.05 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | Cubic | — | — | — | 4.06 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | Cubic | — | — | — | 4.06 |
Applications
Where V2CuS4 is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about V2CuS4, answered from cross-validated data.
What is V2CuS4?
V2CuS4 is a metastable, semimetallic ternary sulfide containing vanadium and copper that is primarily used in fundamental materials research.
What is V2CuS4 used for?
What is the band gap of V2CuS4?
Is V2CuS4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is V2CuS4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of V2CuS4?
What is the density of V2CuS4?
How many polymorphs of V2CuS4 are known?
What elements does V2CuS4 contain?
Where does the data for V2CuS4 come from?
How It Compares
As a unique ternary sulfide, V2CuS4 occupies a distinct position in materials science research. While many transition metal sulfides are well-characterized insulators or semiconductors, this compound's semimetallic nature makes it an outlier, offering a specialized platform for studying charge carrier dynamics in metastable chalcogenide systems.
Data sources & attribution
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
- mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
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