HgN3
mercury azide
Mercury azide is an inorganic compound composed of mercury and nitrogen. It is a highly sensitive energetic material that is primarily utilized in specialized explosive applications.
HgN
Overview
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for HgN3, aggregated across 3 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.
2.16 eV
Range across DFT structures
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.
0.565 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
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.
Above hull
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
86
3 databases, 19 space groups
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for HgN3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 2.16 | 0.5652 | -18.623 | 5.78 |
| C2/c (No. 15) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 11.48 |
| P1 (No. 1) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 8.11 |
| P2 (No. 3) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 8.23 |
| C2 (No. 5) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 8.67 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 9.41 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 9.65 |
| P-1 (No. 2) | Triclinic | — | — | — | 6.13 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.10 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 5.44 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 6.72 |
| P2 (No. 3) | Monoclinic | — | — | — | 8.79 |
Uses
Applications
Where HgN3 is used.
detonatorsprimersexplosive research
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about HgN3, answered from cross-validated data.
What is HgN3?
Mercury azide is an inorganic compound composed of mercury and nitrogen. It is a highly sensitive energetic material that is primarily utilized in specialized explosive applications.
More questions
What is HgN3 used for?
HgN3 is used in detonators, primers, and explosive research.
What is the band gap of HgN3?
HgN3 has a DFT-computed band gap of 2.16 eV across 86 reported structures.
Is HgN3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a band gap up to 2.16 eV it is a semiconductor.
Is HgN3 thermodynamically stable?
HgN3 has a lowest energy above hull of 0.565 eV/atom (above hull).
What is the crystal structure of HgN3?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of HgN3 is monoclinic symmetry, space group P21/c (No. 14).
What is the density of HgN3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of HgN3 is 5.78 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of HgN3 are known?
86 structures of HgN3 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 19 distinct space groups.
What elements does HgN3 contain?
HgN3 contains Hg and N (2 elements).
Where does the data for HgN3 come from?
HgN3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
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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