VCl3O

Vanadyl trichloride · Vanadium oxytrichloride

Vanadyl trichloride is a reactive, semiconducting vanadium oxyhalide used primarily as a precursor in industrial chemical synthesis.

ClOV
Crystal structure of VCl3O (orthorhombic, Pnma (No. 62))
Ground-state structure · Materials Project
Overview

About Vanadyl trichloride

Vanadyl trichloride is a reactive inorganic compound characterized by its semiconducting electronic nature. As a metastable species, it serves as a critical intermediate in chemical synthesis, particularly in the production of specialized catalysts and polymers.

Its unique chemical structure allows it to participate in various oxidation and chlorination reactions. Due to its reactivity and electronic configuration, it remains a subject of interest in materials science for developing high-performance chemical precursors.

At a glance

Key Properties

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

Band Gap

1.99–2.84 eV
Range across DFT structures · ground state: wide gap

Energy Above Hull

0.000 eV/atom
Best (lowest) across sources

Stability

Stable
3 DFT sources

Structures

9
3 databases, 1 space group
Validation

Cross-Source DFT Agreement

How well independent DFT databases agree on the thermodynamics of VCl3O. Tight agreement means computed properties can be trusted without re-running calculations.

Agreement Score

0.00 / 1.00
Trust tier: low

Hull Spread

0.450 eV
EAH spread across sources

Sources Compared

3
jarvis, materials_project, oqmd

Space Group Consensus

All match
Crystallography

Reported Structures

Lowest-energy structures reported for VCl3O, ranked by energy above hull.

Space GroupCrystal SystemBand Gap (eV)E above hull (eV/atom)E/atom (eV)Density (g/cm³)
——2.710.0000-1.544—
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic2.410.0000-1.481—
——2.840.0030-1.541—
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic2.420.0143-1.466—
——1.990.0239-1.521—
——2.320.0486-1.496—
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic2.900.4498-5.1682.14
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic———1.92
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic———1.81
Pnma (No. 62)orthorhombic———1.84
Uses

Applications

Where Vanadyl trichloride is used.

Catalyst precursorPolymerization initiatorChemical synthesis reagent
Reference

Frequently Asked Questions

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

What is VCl3O?

Vanadyl trichloride is a reactive, semiconducting vanadium oxyhalide used primarily as a precursor in industrial chemical synthesis.

More questions
What is VCl3O used for?
Vanadyl trichloride (VCl3O) is used in catalyst precursor, polymerization initiator, and chemical synthesis reagent.
What is the band gap of VCl3O?
Vanadyl trichloride (VCl3O) has a DFT-computed band gap of 1.99–2.84 eV across 9 reported structures. Standard DFT underestimates band gaps, so the measured gap is typically larger.
Is VCl3O a metal, semiconductor, or insulator?
DFT predicts a band gap of up to 2.84 eV (a semiconductor). Measured gaps are typically larger.
Is VCl3O thermodynamically stable?
Yes — Vanadyl trichloride (VCl3O) sits on the convex hull (energy above hull 0 eV/atom), i.e. stable.
What is the crystal structure of VCl3O?
The reference structure of Vanadyl trichloride (VCl3O) is orthorhombic symmetry, space group Pnma (No. 62).
How many polymorphs of VCl3O are known?
9 structures of VCl3O are reported across 3 databases, spanning 1 distinct space group.
What elements does VCl3O contain?
Vanadyl trichloride (VCl3O) contains Cl, O, and V (3 elements).
Where does the data for VCl3O come from?
VCl3O data is cross-referenced from oqmd, jarvis, materials_project, mpaloe.
Comparison

How It Compares

As a distinct vanadium-based oxyhalide, this compound occupies a specialized niche in inorganic chemistry. While it lacks direct structural siblings in this specific classification, it is recognized for its high reactivity compared to more stable, fully oxidized vanadium oxides, making it a preferred reagent for targeted synthetic applications.

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)
  • 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)
  • mpaloe — Data from MP-ALOE. Cite: Kuner et al., npj Comput. Mater. (2025), doi:10.1038/s41524-025-01834-9.

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