Title: metal–insulator transition
Long Title: IUPAC Gold Book - metal–insulator transition
DOI: 10.1351/goldbook.M03863
Status: current

Definition
A transition characterized by a sudden change in electrical transport properties (conductivity) due to a reversible change from localized to itinerant behaviour of the electrons. Example: The transition at \(339\ \rm{K}\) in $\ce{VO2}$ where it changes from a high-temperature metallic behaviour to a low-temperature semiconductor behaviour. Synonymous with metal–nonmetal transition.

Related Terms
- localized-itinerant transition: https://dev.goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/L03608
- semiconductor: https://dev.goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/S05591

Source
- PAC, 1994, 66, 577. 'Definitions of terms relating to phase transitions of the solid state (IUPAC Recommendations 1994)' on page 586 (https://doi.org/10.1351/pac199466030577)

Other Outputs
- html: https://dev.goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M03863/html
- json: https://dev.goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M03863/json
- xml: https://dev.goldbook.iupac.org/terms/view/M03863/xml

Citation: Citation: 'metal–insulator transition' in IUPAC Compendium of Chemical Terminology, 5th ed. International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry; 2025. Online version 5.0.0, 2025. 10.1351/goldbook.M03863
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Accessed: 2025-12-13T22:47:03+00:00