Zn2SnO4
Zinc stannate · ZTO
Zinc stannate is a semiconducting ternary oxide with a spinel structure that is valued for its stability and potential in catalytic and electronic applications.
About Zinc stannate
Zinc stannate is a semiconducting spinel oxide that holds significant interest in materials science due to its favorable thermodynamic stability. As a near-hull phase, it is considered highly synthesizable and structurally robust, making it a reliable candidate for functional applications.
This material is primarily utilized for its catalytic and electronic properties. Its spinel structure allows for versatile chemical tuning, which is essential for developing high-performance catalysts used in environmental remediation and chemical sensing technologies.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Zinc stannate, 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 Zn2SnO4. 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 Zn2SnO4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Imma (No. 74) | orthorhombic | 0.83 | 0.0170 | -5.670 | 6.39 |
| Imma (No. 74) | orthorhombic | 1.04 | 0.0212 | -1.658 | — |
| — | — | 1.46 | 0.0384 | -1.742 | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.44 | 0.1047 | -1.575 | — |
| — | — | 0.71 | 0.1149 | -1.666 | — |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | 0.44 | 0.1165 | -5.570 | 6.18 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | — | — | — | 6.52 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | — | — | — | 6.43 |
| Imma (No. 74) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.37 |
| Imma (No. 74) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.13 |
| Imma (No. 74) | orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.60 |
| Fd-3m (No. 227) | cubic | — | — | — | 6.42 |
Synthesis Routes
Literature-extracted synthesis procedures targeting Zn2SnO4.
Applications
Where Zinc stannate is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Zinc stannate, answered from cross-validated data.
What is Zn2SnO4?
Zinc stannate is a semiconducting ternary oxide with a spinel structure that is valued for its stability and potential in catalytic and electronic applications.
What is Zn2SnO4 used for?
What is the band gap of Zn2SnO4?
Is Zn2SnO4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is Zn2SnO4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of Zn2SnO4?
How many polymorphs of Zn2SnO4 are known?
How is Zn2SnO4 synthesized?
What elements does Zn2SnO4 contain?
Where does the data for Zn2SnO4 come from?
How It Compares
Within the spinel oxide catalysts class.
Within the diverse class of spinel and transition metal oxides, Zn2SnO4 occupies a distinct niche compared to simpler binary oxides like ZnO or NiO. While binary oxides often serve as fundamental building blocks, the ternary spinel structure of Zn2SnO4 offers more complex coordination environments than MgAl2O4, providing enhanced surface reactivity that is critical for specialized catalytic processes.
Related Compounds
Other Spinel Oxide Catalysts 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)
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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