HCl
Hydrogen chloride · Chlorane, Hydrochloric acid
Hydrogen chloride is a stable, insulating diatomic compound that serves as a vital precursor in the production of numerous industrial chemicals.

About Hydrogen chloride
Hydrogen chloride is a fundamental inorganic compound that exists as a thermodynamically stable species. Its electronic character defines it as a wide-gap insulator, reflecting its strong covalent bonding and distinct chemical reactivity in various states of matter.
This compound is widely utilized across chemical manufacturing and industrial synthesis. Due to its high stability and well-documented structural behavior, it serves as a critical building block for producing a vast array of chlorine-based chemical products and reagents.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Hydrogen chloride, aggregated across 4 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.
Applications
Where Hydrogen chloride is used.
Patent Landscape
24 patents reference HCl or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 11286170 | Processing of lithium containing material including HCl sparge | — | — |
| 5215723 | Compact anhydrous HCl to aqueous HCl conversion system | — | — |
| 4332684 | Process for treating an organic phase containing iron chloride, molybdenum chloride and HCl | — | — |
| 4299606 | Recovery of HF and HCl from gaseous mixtures thereof | — | — |
| 5958356 | Method for removal of moisture from gaseous HCl | — | — |
| 4154809 | High efficiency chlorine dioxide production using HCl as acid and methanol addition | — | — |
| 4210502 | Process for recovery of waste H.sub.2 SO.sub.4 and HCl | — | — |
| 4830846 | Separation process for anhydrous HCl and HBr by thermal cleavage | — | — |
| 4760207 | Recovery of ethylene, chlorine and HCl from vented waste gas from direct chlorination reactor | — | — |
| 7736598 | Reactor and method for producing chlorine from HCl | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Hydrogen chloride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is HCl?
Hydrogen chloride is a stable, insulating diatomic compound that serves as a vital precursor in the production of numerous industrial chemicals.
What is HCl used for?
What is the band gap of HCl?
Is HCl a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is HCl thermodynamically stable?
How many polymorphs of HCl are known?
What elements does HCl contain?
Where does the data for HCl come from?
How It Compares
As a primary inorganic molecule, hydrogen chloride occupies a central role in chemical science. It is a highly characterized substance that serves as a benchmark for understanding simple diatomic bonding and reactivity patterns within the broader landscape of inorganic chemistry.
Data sources & attribution
- latticegraph — Lattice Graph Materials Intelligence Platform
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