InCl3
indium(III) chloride · indium trichloride
Indium(III) chloride is a stable, insulating inorganic salt widely utilized as a Lewis acid catalyst in organic synthesis.
About indium(III) chloride
Indium(III) chloride is a stable inorganic halide that exists as a wide-band-gap insulator. Its electronic properties and structural integrity make it a significant subject of study, with numerous documented structural configurations across material databases.
This compound serves as a critical reagent in chemical manufacturing and laboratory research. Its ability to act as a mild Lewis acid allows it to facilitate a variety of organic transformations, positioning it as a valuable tool for synthetic chemists working on complex molecular architectures.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for indium(III) chloride, 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.
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 InCl3. 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 InCl3, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 3.70 | 0.0000 | -1.384 | — |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 3.02 | 0.0000 | -3.516 | 2.70 |
| P63/mmc (No. 194) | hexagonal | 2.60 | 0.0000 | -0.959 | — |
| — | — | 3.59 | 0.0048 | -1.379 | — |
| — | — | 3.61 | 0.0049 | -1.379 | — |
| — | — | 3.51 | 0.0079 | -1.376 | — |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | 2.31 | 0.0410 | -0.918 | — |
| — | — | 3.32 | 0.0545 | -1.329 | — |
| — | — | 1.96 | 0.0823 | -1.301 | — |
| — | — | 3.23 | 0.0921 | -1.292 | — |
| — | — | 2.23 | 0.0937 | -1.290 | — |
| — | — | 3.18 | 0.0966 | -1.287 | — |
Applications
Where indium(III) chloride is used.
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about indium(III) chloride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is InCl3?
Indium(III) chloride is a stable, insulating inorganic salt widely utilized as a Lewis acid catalyst in organic synthesis.
What is InCl3 used for?
What is the band gap of InCl3?
Is InCl3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is InCl3 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of InCl3?
What is the density of InCl3?
How many polymorphs of InCl3 are known?
What elements does InCl3 contain?
Where does the data for InCl3 come from?
How It Compares
As a stable halide, indium(III) chloride functions as a foundational member of the indium-based chemical family, providing a reliable platform for catalytic applications where controlled reactivity and structural stability are required.
Data sources & attribution
- 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)
- 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)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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