HgCl2
mercury(II) chloride · mercuric chloride, sublimate
Mercury(II) chloride is a stable, insulating inorganic salt that has historically served as a versatile reagent in chemical synthesis and industrial applications.
About mercury(II) chloride
Mercury(II) chloride is a thermodynamically stable inorganic compound characterized by its insulating electronic nature. It exists as a wide-band-gap material and is notable for its significant structural diversity, with numerous reported configurations across scientific databases. Its stability on the convex hull underscores its importance as a fundamental mercury-based halide. Historically and industrially, this compound has been utilized in various chemical processes, ranging from its role as a reagent in organic synthesis to its past applications in preservation and medicine. Its distinct chemical behavior is driven by the interaction between the mercury cation and chloride anions.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for mercury(II) 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.
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for HgCl2, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 2.87 | 0.0000 | -21.241 | 5.31 |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 3.53 | 0.0657 | -21.175 | 2.14 |
| P4/mmm (No. 123) | Tetragonal | — | — | — | 6.33 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 3.43 |
| Cmc21 (No. 36) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 8.76 |
| P21 (No. 4) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 3.90 |
| Cmcm (No. 63) | Orthorhombic | — | — | — | 6.09 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 9.93 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 5.61 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 6.74 |
| Cm (No. 8) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.76 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.01 |
Applications
Where mercury(II) chloride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about mercury(II) chloride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is HgCl2?
Mercury(II) chloride is a stable, insulating inorganic salt that has historically served as a versatile reagent in chemical synthesis and industrial applications.
What is HgCl2 used for?
What is the band gap of HgCl2?
Is HgCl2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is HgCl2 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of HgCl2?
What is the density of HgCl2?
How many polymorphs of HgCl2 are known?
What elements does HgCl2 contain?
Where does the data for HgCl2 come from?
How It Compares
As a prominent mercury halide, this compound serves as a primary reference point for understanding the behavior of divalent mercury salts. It occupies a distinct position in inorganic chemistry due to its well-defined stability profile and its role as a precursor in the synthesis of other mercury-containing materials.
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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