SiCl4
SiCl4 has a DFT band gap of 1.39–5.67 eV across 21 reported structures in 5 space groups; its reference structure is monoclinic (P21/c (No. 14)). Cross-validated across 2 computational databases.
At a glance
Key Properties
Cross-validated computational properties for SiCl4, aggregated across 2 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.
1.39–5.67 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: insulator
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.
0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources
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.
Stable
2 DFT sources
StructuresCount of reported calculated crystal structures for this formula, including alternate polymorphs, source databases, and observed space groups.
21
2 databases, 5 space groups
Validation
Cross-Source DFT Agreement
How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of SiCl4. 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.
1.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: medium
Hull SpreadDifference between the highest and lowest energy-above-hull values reported by comparable sources. Smaller spread means less thermodynamic disagreement.
0.000 eV
EAH spread across sources
Sources ComparedNumber and names of computational sources with comparable entries for this formula.
2
materials_project, oqmd
Space Group ConsensusWhether independent sources predict the same crystal symmetry for the lowest-energy structure.
—
Crystallography
Reported Structures
Lowest-energy structures reported for SiCl4, 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. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| — | — | 5.67 | 0.0000 | -1.533 | — |
| P21/c (No. 14) | monoclinic | 5.57 | 0.0000 | -4.306 | 1.86 |
| — | — | 5.60 | 0.0058 | -1.527 | — |
| — | — | 5.33 | 0.0093 | -1.524 | — |
| — | — | 5.54 | 0.0130 | -1.520 | — |
| — | — | 2.54 | 0.3535 | -1.179 | — |
| — | — | 1.39 | 0.5375 | -0.995 | — |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 2.55 |
| C2/m (No. 12) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.30 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 3.32 |
| P1 (No. 1) | triclinic | — | — | — | 2.58 |
| Cm (No. 8) | monoclinic | — | — | — | 2.69 |
Intellectual Property
Patent Landscape
10 patents reference SiCl4 or close compositional variants.
| Patent | Title | Assignee | Granted |
|---|---|---|---|
| 8120124 | Ultra thin TCS (SiCl4) cell nitride for DRAM capacitor with DCS (SiH2Cl2) interface seeding layer | — | — |
| 9669378 | Reduction of SiCl4 in the presence of BCl3 | — | — |
| 8486360 | GeCl4 and/or SiCl4 recovery process from optical fibers or glassy residues and process for producing SiCl4 fro | — | — |
| 8697021 | Method for the production of HSiCl3 by catalytic hydrodehalogenation of SiCl4 | — | — |
| 4701313 | Replacing boron with silicon in zeolite beta using SiCl.sub.4 | — | — |
| 9352972 | Device for recovering SiCl4 slurry and method for the same | — | — |
| 7943109 | Process for the production of Si by reduction of SiCl4 with liquid Zn | — | — |
| 6465373 | Ultra thin TCS (SiCl4) cell nitride for DRAM capacitor with DCS (SiH2Cl2) interface seeding layer | — | — |
| 8013371 | Ultra thin TCS (SiCl4) cell nitride for DRAM capacitor with DCS (SiH2Cl2) interface seeding layer | — | — |
| 10010853 | Reduction of SiCl4 in the presence of BCl3 | — | — |
Reference
Frequently Asked Questions
Common questions about SiCl4, answered from cross-validated data.
What is the band gap of SiCl4?
SiCl4 has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.39–5.67 eV across 21 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
More questions
Is SiCl4 a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a wide band gap of up to 5.67 eV (an insulator or wide-band-gap material).
Is SiCl4 thermodynamically stable?
Yes — SiCl4 sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. stable.
What is the crystal structure of SiCl4?
The reference structure of SiCl4 is monoclinic symmetry, space group P21/c (No. 14).
What is the density of SiCl4?
The computed density of the ground-state structure of SiCl4 is 1.86 g/cm³.
How many polymorphs of SiCl4 are known?
21 structures of SiCl4 are reported across 2 databases, spanning 5 distinct space groups.
What elements does SiCl4 contain?
SiCl4 contains Cl and Si (2 elements).
Where does the data for SiCl4 come from?
SiCl4 data is cross-referenced from oqmd, materials_project, mpaloe.
Explore
Related Compounds
Other Silicon Anode Materials in the database.
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)
- mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.
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