CBr4

Carbon tetrabromide · Tetrabromomethane

Carbon tetrabromide is a stable, semiconducting organic halide widely utilized as a reagent in chemical synthesis and as a flame retardant.

BrC
Crystal structure of CBr4 (monoclinic, C2/c (No. 15))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Carbon tetrabromide

Carbon tetrabromide is a halogenated organic compound that sits on the thermodynamic convex hull, indicating robust stability under standard conditions. As a semiconducting material, it serves as a critical reagent in various organic transformations, particularly in Appel reactions and bromination processes.

Beyond its utility in synthesis, the compound is valued for its physical properties in specialized industrial applications. Its structural characteristics have been extensively documented across multiple databases, reflecting its importance as a fundamental building block in halogen chemistry.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Carbon tetrabromide, aggregated across 4 databases.

Band Gap

2.93 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

10
4 databases, 7 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for CBr4, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
C2/c (No. 15)monoclinic2.930.0000-3.3723.05
No. 0unknown0.46
4.99
4.99
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic7.65
Pm (No. 6)Monoclinic8.34
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic3.50
Pmm2 (No. 25)Orthorhombic4.91
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic3.67
C2 (No. 5)Monoclinic4.99
Uses

Applications

Where Carbon tetrabromide is used.

Organic synthesisAppel reaction reagentFlame retardant additiveBrominating agent
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Carbon tetrabromide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is CBr4?

Carbon tetrabromide is a stable, semiconducting organic halide widely utilized as a reagent in chemical synthesis and as a flame retardant.

More questions
What is CBr4 used for?
Carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) is used in organic synthesis, appel reaction reagent, flame retardant additive, and brominating agent.
What is the band gap of CBr4?
Carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) has a DFT-computed band gap of 2.93 eV across 10 reported structures.
Is CBr4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 2.93 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is CBr4 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of CBr4?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) is monoclinic symmetry, space group C2/c (No. 15).
What is the density of CBr4?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) is 3.05 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of CBr4 are known?
10 structures of CBr4 are reported across 4 databases, spanning 7 distinct space groups.
What elements does CBr4 contain?
Carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) contains Br and C (2 elements).
Where does the data for CBr4 come from?
CBr4 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, cod, omat24, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a primary halogenated carbon derivative, carbon tetrabromide serves as a benchmark for reactivity and stability within the broader class of polyhalogenated alkanes, providing a versatile platform for electrophilic bromination that is essential in synthetic organic chemistry.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database. Cite: Grazulis et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 40, D420 (2012).
  • omat24 — Data from OMat24 (Meta FAIR). Cite: Barroso-Luque et al., arXiv 2410.12771 (2024).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.

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