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.

ClIn
Crystal structure of InCl3 (hexagonal, P63/mmc (No. 194))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

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.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for indium(III) chloride, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

3.01 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

40
3 databases, 10 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for InCl3, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
P63/mmc (No. 194)hexagonal3.010.0000-11.4082.70
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic3.93
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic4.40
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic3.48
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic3.58
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic7.10
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic3.19
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic4.41
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic4.61
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic3.38
C2/m (No. 12)Monoclinic3.33
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic5.78
Uses

Applications

Where indium(III) chloride is used.

Lewis acid catalystOrganic synthesis reagentPrecursor for indium-based materials
Reference

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.

More questions
What is InCl3 used for?
indium(III) chloride (InCl3) is used in lewis acid catalyst, organic synthesis reagent, and precursor for indium-based materials.
What is the band gap of InCl3?
indium(III) chloride (InCl3) has a DFT-computed band gap of 3.01 eV across 40 reported structures.
Is InCl3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 3.01 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is InCl3 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — indium(III) chloride (InCl3) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of InCl3?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of indium(III) chloride (InCl3) is hexagonal symmetry, space group P63/mmc (No. 194).
What is the density of InCl3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of indium(III) chloride (InCl3) is 2.70 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of InCl3 are known?
40 structures of InCl3 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 10 distinct space groups.
What elements does InCl3 contain?
indium(III) chloride (InCl3) contains Cl and In (2 elements).
Where does the data for InCl3 come from?
InCl3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
Comparison

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
  • 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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