ZnSO4
zinc sulfate · white vitriol
Zinc sulfate is a stable, wide-gap insulating compound composed of zinc, sulfur, and oxygen that is widely utilized in chemical and industrial applications.
About zinc sulfate
Zinc sulfate is a thermodynamically stable inorganic compound that exists as a wide-gap insulator. Its structural versatility is highlighted by a significant number of reported crystal configurations, making it a well-documented subject in materials science databases.
As a member of the broader transparent oxide class, it is valued for its electronic characteristics and chemical stability. It serves as a foundational material for various industrial and laboratory processes where zinc-based sulfur chemistry is required.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for zinc sulfate, 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 ZnSO4. 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 ZnSO4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 4.39 | 0.0000 | -1.721 | — |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 4.25 | 0.0000 | -1.474 | — |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 3.82 | 0.0000 | -6.061 | 3.93 |
| — | — | 3.97 | 0.0115 | -1.710 | — |
| — | — | 4.76 | 0.0146 | -1.706 | — |
| — | — | 4.22 | 0.0323 | -1.689 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0339 | -1.687 | — |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 4.27 | 0.0383 | -6.023 | 2.31 |
| — | — | 4.99 | 0.0414 | -1.680 | — |
| — | — | 3.94 | 0.0630 | -1.658 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.1035 | -1.618 | — |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 4.32 | 0.1336 | -1.340 | — |
Applications
Where zinc sulfate is used.
Patent Landscape
1 patent reference ZnSO4 or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4715939 | Method for removal of monovalent ions from ZnSO.sub.4 electrolyte by electrodialysis | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about zinc sulfate, answered from cross-validated data.
What is ZnSO4?
Zinc sulfate is a stable, wide-gap insulating compound composed of zinc, sulfur, and oxygen that is widely utilized in chemical and industrial applications.
What is ZnSO4 used for?
What is the band gap of ZnSO4?
Is ZnSO4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is ZnSO4 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of ZnSO4?
How many polymorphs of ZnSO4 are known?
What elements does ZnSO4 contain?
Where does the data for ZnSO4 come from?
How It Compares
Within the transparent conducting oxides class.
Unlike the highly conductive ZnO, which is a hallmark of the transparent conducting oxide family, ZnSO4 functions primarily as a wide-gap insulator. While materials like BaSnO3 are engineered for specific electronic transport properties, ZnSO4 is distinguished by its role as a stable, non-conductive zinc-based compound within the class.
Related Compounds
Other Transparent Conducting Oxides in the database.
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)
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