HgSe
mercury selenide · tiemannite
Mercury selenide is a stable semiconducting compound primarily utilized in the production of infrared sensors and various optoelectronic components.
About mercury selenide
Mercury selenide is a binary inorganic compound that functions as a semiconductor. It is recognized for its thermodynamic stability, sitting securely on the convex hull, which makes it a reliable material for research and industrial applications involving electronic transport.
Due to its extensive characterization across multiple structural databases, this compound is a well-documented material in the field of chalcogenides. Its electronic properties are highly valued in the development of specialized sensors and high-performance optoelectronic devices.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for mercury selenide, aggregated across 6 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 HgSe. 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 HgSe, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P3221 (No. 154) | trigonal | 1.04 | 0.0000 | -32.077 | 8.31 |
| P3221 (No. 154) | trigonal | 0.80 | 0.0000 | -0.013 | — |
| — | — | 0.18 | 0.0000 | -0.183 | — |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0014 | -32.075 | 7.82 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.0071 | -0.176 | — |
| — | — | 0.20 | 0.0076 | -0.175 | — |
| F-43m (No. 216) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0174 | 0.004 | — |
| — | — | 0.75 | 0.0459 | -0.137 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.0864 | 0.073 | — |
| Fm-3m (No. 225) | cubic | 0.00 | 0.1514 | -31.925 | 9.47 |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.1551 | -0.028 | — |
| — | — | 0.00 | 0.1582 | -0.025 | — |
Applications
Where mercury selenide is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about mercury selenide, answered from cross-validated data.
What is HgSe?
Mercury selenide is a stable semiconducting compound primarily utilized in the production of infrared sensors and various optoelectronic components.
What is HgSe used for?
What is the band gap of HgSe?
Is HgSe a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is HgSe thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of HgSe?
What is the density of HgSe?
How many polymorphs of HgSe are known?
What elements does HgSe contain?
Where does the data for HgSe come from?
How It Compares
As a stable binary semiconductor, mercury selenide serves as a foundational reference point for mercury-based chalcogenide systems. It represents a key example of how mercury and selenium interact to form a robust, semiconducting lattice that is essential for understanding the broader behavior of narrow-gap materials.
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)
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- 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.
Analyze HgSe in the Lattice Graph platform
Polymorph comparison, confidence scoring, supply-chain risk, and patent monitoring — across 85 source databases.
Explore the Platform →