HBr

Hydrogen bromide · Hydrobromic acid

Hydrogen bromide is a stable, insulating diatomic compound widely used as a critical reagent in industrial and laboratory chemical synthesis.

BrH
Crystal structure of HBr (orthorhombic, Cmc21 (No. 36))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Hydrogen bromide

Hydrogen bromide is a simple diatomic molecule that exists as a thermodynamically stable phase. Its electronic structure is characterized by a wide band gap, classifying it as an insulating material in its solid state. Due to its high reactivity and solubility, it serves as a foundational chemical building block.

This compound is widely utilized in synthetic chemistry, particularly for the production of organobromine derivatives. Its stability on the convex hull underscores its reliability as a precursor in various industrial processes, ranging from flame retardants to pharmaceutical manufacturing.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for Hydrogen bromide, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

1.48–5.34 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

284
3 databases, 39 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

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

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Cmc21 (No. 36)orthorhombic4.680.0000-3.0332.80
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic5.340.0004-3.0332.78
P212121 (No. 19)orthorhombic4.490.0226-3.0112.44
Cm (No. 8)monoclinic2.470.2955-2.7382.33
I4/mmm (No. 139)tetragonal1.550.3089-2.7242.10
Fmmm (No. 69)orthorhombic1.480.3104-2.7232.33
Fm-3m (No. 225)cubic0.001.1372-1.8964.59
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic5.80
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic5.61
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic3.95
Fm-3m (No. 225)
C2 (No. 5)Monoclinic6.40
Uses

Applications

Where Hydrogen bromide is used.

Production of organobromine compoundsCatalyst in organic synthesisPharmaceutical manufacturingFlame retardant synthesis
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about Hydrogen bromide, answered from cross-validated data.

What is HBr?

Hydrogen bromide is a stable, insulating diatomic compound widely used as a critical reagent in industrial and laboratory chemical synthesis.

More questions
What is HBr used for?
Hydrogen bromide (HBr) is used in production of organobromine compounds, catalyst in organic synthesis, pharmaceutical manufacturing, and flame retardant synthesis.
What is the band gap of HBr?
Hydrogen bromide (HBr) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.48–5.34 eV across 284 reported structures.
Is HBr a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 5.34 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is HBr thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Hydrogen bromide (HBr) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of HBr?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of Hydrogen bromide (HBr) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Cmc21 (No. 36).
What is the density of HBr?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of Hydrogen bromide (HBr) is 2.80 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of HBr are known?
284 structures of HBr are reported across 3 databases, spanning 39 distinct space groups.
What elements does HBr contain?
Hydrogen bromide (HBr) contains Br and H (2 elements).
Where does the data for HBr come from?
HBr data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a fundamental hydrogen halide, hydrogen bromide occupies a central role in chemical synthesis. Unlike more complex inorganic salts, its simplicity allows for high-purity applications in industrial catalysis and organic functionalization.

Data sources & attribution
  • materials_project — Data from the Materials Project. Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013).
  • mpaloe — Data from mpaloe.
  • jarvis — Data from JARVIS (NIST). Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020).

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