Results of first principles augmented spherical wave electronic structure calculations for niobium dioxide are presented. Both metallic rutile and insulating low-temperature NbO2, which crystallizes in a distorted rutile structure, are correctly described within density functional theory and the local density approximation. Metallic conductivity is carried to equal amounts by metal t2g orbitals, which fall into the one-dimensional d band and the isotropically dispersing e Ï g bands. Hybridization of both types of bands is almost negligible outside narrow rods along the line X-R. In the lowtemperature phase splitting of the d band due to metal-metal dimerization as well as upshift of the e Ï g bands due to increased p-d overlap remove the Fermi surface and open an optical band gap of about 0.1 eV. The metal-insulator transition arises as a Peierls instability of the d band in an embedding background of e Ï g electrons. This basic mechanism should also apply to VO2, where, however, electronic correlations are expected to play a greater role due to stronger localization of the 3d electrons.PACS numbers: 71.30.+h, 72.15.Nj Despite intense work over decades the metal-insulator transition (MIT) of VO 2 has remained a matter of controversy [1,2,3,4,5,6,7]. This is related to the simultaneous occurrence of a structural transformation from the high-temperature rutile phase to a distorted monoclinic structure, which is characterized by (i) pairing of the metal atoms within chains parallel to the rutile c axis and (ii) their lateral zigzag-like displacement [8]. Electronic states near the Fermi energy are of mainly V 3d t 2g character. They separate into the d band, which mediates V-V overlap along the metal chains, and the remaining e Ï g bands [3]. At the transition, splitting of the d band and upshift of the e Ï g bands due to increased metal-oxygen overlap produce a finite band gap. Dispute centers about the question, whether the d splitting is caused by metal dimerization or by increased electronic correlations resulting from the reduced screening by the e Ï g electrons [3,4]. State of the art band calculations gave strong hints of a structural instability but were not able to reproduce the insulating gap due to the shortcomings of the local density approximation (LDA) [5]. Interestingly, only very few studies have dealt with the neighbouring dioxides, which display related phenomena. NbO 2 likewise undergoes a MIT (at 1081 K) and a simultaneous structural transition from rutile to a distorted variant having a body-centered tetragonal (bct) lattice [9,10]. Despite the differences in long range order, local deviations from rutile are the same as in VO 2 , i.e. niobium atoms dimerize and experience lateral displacements at the transition [11,12,13]. In contrast, the metallic oxides MoO 2 , WO 2 , TcO 2 , and α-ReO 2 all crystallize in the same monoclinic structure as VO 2 [14]. No doubt the phase transitions of VO 2 and NbO 2 as well as the destabilization of the rutile structure in all these dioxides call for a uni...