CsCl
Cesium chloride · Caesium chloride
Cesium chloride is a stable, insulating salt widely utilized in scientific research for the separation and purification of biological molecules.
About Cesium chloride
Cesium chloride is a robust, thermodynamically stable inorganic salt that crystallizes in a distinctive cubic structure. As a wide-gap insulator, it exhibits excellent dielectric properties and high chemical stability, making it a foundational material for various laboratory and industrial processes.
Its utility is primarily driven by its high solubility and density in aqueous solutions. These characteristics allow it to play a critical role in the separation of biological macromolecules, where it serves as a standard medium for purifying DNA and other cellular components through centrifugation.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Cesium chloride, aggregated across 2 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 CsCl. 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 CsCl, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pm-3m (No. 221) | cubic | 4.99 | 0.0000 | -3.634 | 3.93 |
| — | — | 5.01 | 0.0001 | -2.154 | — |
| — | — | 4.99 | 0.0001 | -2.154 | — |
| — | — | 5.06 | 0.0010 | -2.153 | — |
| — | — | 5.10 | 0.0012 | -2.153 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 4.85 | 0.0071 | -3.627 | 3.24 |
| — | — | 4.79 | 0.0409 | -2.113 | — |
| — | — | 5.07 | 0.0440 | -2.110 | — |
| — | — | 5.07 | 0.0442 | -2.110 | — |
| — | — | 5.18 | 0.0487 | -2.105 | — |
| — | — | 4.51 | 0.0819 | -2.072 | — |
| — | — | 4.49 | 0.0855 | -2.068 | — |
Applications
Where Cesium chloride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Cesium chloride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is CsCl?
Cesium chloride is a stable, insulating salt widely utilized in scientific research for the separation and purification of biological molecules.
What is CsCl used for?
What is the band gap of CsCl?
Is CsCl a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is CsCl thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of CsCl?
What is the density of CsCl?
How many polymorphs of CsCl are known?
What elements does CsCl contain?
Where does the data for CsCl come from?
How It Compares
As a highly stable and well-characterized halide salt, cesium chloride serves as a fundamental reference material for understanding ionic bonding and crystal lattice structures within the broader category of alkali metal halides.
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)
- 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)
- 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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