PbCl2
Lead(II) chloride · cotunnite
Lead(II) chloride is a stable, insulating inorganic salt frequently used as a primary starting material in chemical synthesis and industrial applications.
About Lead(II) chloride
Lead(II) chloride is a thermodynamically stable inorganic compound that exists as a wide-gap insulator. It is characterized by its significant structural versatility, as evidenced by the large number of reported crystalline arrangements found in materials databases.
This compound serves as a critical precursor in the synthesis of various lead-based materials and organometallic compounds. Its stability and distinct electronic profile make it a foundational subject for studies in solid-state chemistry and materials science.
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for Lead(II) 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 PbCl2. 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 PbCl2, 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 | 3.92 | 0.0000 | -1.230 | — |
| Pnma (No. 62) | orthorhombic | 3.79 | 0.0000 | -4.074 | 5.77 |
| — | — | 3.15 | 0.0000 | -1.401 | — |
| — | — | 3.60 | 0.0062 | -1.395 | — |
| — | — | 3.31 | 0.0067 | -1.395 | — |
| — | — | 3.98 | 0.0079 | -1.393 | — |
| — | — | 3.94 | 0.0092 | -1.392 | — |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 3.63 | 0.0137 | -4.060 | 5.66 |
| — | — | 3.12 | 0.0153 | -1.386 | — |
| — | — | 3.06 | 0.0153 | -1.386 | — |
| — | — | 3.01 | 0.0157 | -1.386 | — |
| — | — | 3.13 | 0.0163 | -1.385 | — |
Applications
Where Lead(II) chloride is used.
Patent Landscape
1 patent reference PbCl2 or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 4510220 | Cell with PbCl.sub.2 cathode | — | — |
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about Lead(II) chloride, answered from cross-validated data.
What is PbCl2?
Lead(II) chloride is a stable, insulating inorganic salt frequently used as a primary starting material in chemical synthesis and industrial applications.
What is PbCl2 used for?
What is the band gap of PbCl2?
Is PbCl2 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
Is PbCl2 thermodynamically stable?
What is the crystal structure of PbCl2?
How many polymorphs of PbCl2 are known?
What elements does PbCl2 contain?
Where does the data for PbCl2 come from?
How It Compares
As a highly stable and well-documented material, lead(II) chloride represents a benchmark for lead halide systems. It occupies a prominent role in its class due to its extensive structural data and established utility in chemical manufacturing.
Data sources & attribution
- jarvis — Data from JARVIS (jarvis.nist.gov), NIST. Cite: Choudhary et al., npj Comp. Mater. 6, 173 (2020). (LicenseRef-US-Gov-PD)
- materials_project — Data from the Materials Project (materialsproject.org). Cite: Jain et al., APL Materials 1, 011002 (2013). (CC-BY-4.0)
- 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)
- cod — Data from the Crystallography Open Database (crystallography.net/cod/). Cite: Grazulis et al., J. Appl. Cryst. 42, 726 (2009). (CC0-1.0)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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