SbCl3

antimony trichloride · butter of antimony

Antimony trichloride is a stable, insulating inorganic compound widely utilized as a reagent and catalyst in chemical manufacturing.

ClSb
Crystal structure of SbCl3 (orthorhombic, Pnma (No. 62))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About antimony trichloride

Antimony trichloride is a thermodynamically stable compound that functions as a wide-gap insulator. Its distinct chemical properties make it a versatile reagent in laboratory settings and industrial manufacturing processes.

Because it resides on the convex hull, this material exhibits robust stability under standard conditions. It is frequently employed as a precursor for other antimony-containing materials and plays a significant role in specialized chemical synthesis.

At a glance

Key Properties

Cross-validated computational properties for antimony trichloride, aggregated across 3 databases.

Band Gap

3.75 eV
Range across DFT structures

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

On hull (stable)
2 DFT sources

Structures

36
3 databases, 12 space groups
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for SbCl3, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic3.750.0000-11.9853.07
P-1 (No. 2)Triclinic3.50
Pnma (No. 62)
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic6.40
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic3.37
Cmmm (No. 65)Orthorhombic4.23
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic6.78
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic2.97
Cm (No. 8)Monoclinic4.37
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic4.22
P1 (No. 1)Triclinic2.56
P3m1 (No. 156)Trigonal5.19
Uses

Applications

Where antimony trichloride is used.

chemical synthesisflame retardantscatalyst in organic reactionsmordant in dyeingproduction of antimony salts
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about antimony trichloride, answered from cross-validated data.

What is SbCl3?

Antimony trichloride is a stable, insulating inorganic compound widely utilized as a reagent and catalyst in chemical manufacturing.

More questions
What is SbCl3 used for?
antimony trichloride (SbCl3) is used in chemical synthesis, flame retardants, catalyst in organic reactions, mordant in dyeing, and production of antimony salts.
What is the band gap of SbCl3?
antimony trichloride (SbCl3) has a DFT-computed band gap of 3.75 eV across 36 reported structures.
Is SbCl3 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
With a wide band gap up to 3.75 eV it is an insulator / wide-band-gap material.
Is SbCl3 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — antimony trichloride (SbCl3) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. on hull (stable).
What is the crystal structure of SbCl3?
The lowest-energy reported polymorph of antimony trichloride (SbCl3) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Pnma (No. 62).
What is the density of SbCl3?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of antimony trichloride (SbCl3) is 3.07 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of SbCl3 are known?
36 structures of SbCl3 are reported across 3 databases, spanning 12 distinct space groups.
What elements does SbCl3 contain?
antimony trichloride (SbCl3) contains Cl and Sb (2 elements).
Where does the data for SbCl3 come from?
SbCl3 data is cross-referenced from materials_project, mpaloe, jarvis.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a standalone compound in its specific chemical context, antimony trichloride serves as a primary reference point for antimony-based halides. Its stability and insulating nature define the baseline performance for related chemical derivatives used in industrial catalysis and material processing.

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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