Structural and electronic properties of wide band gap charge transfer insulator Hg2Cl2: Insights from the first-principle calculations

Abstract

The structural and electronic properties of Mercurous Chloride (Hg2Cl2) in its tetragonal (I4/mmm) phase at room temperature have been investigated from the first principle calculations. Detail calculations within the framework of density functional theory (DFT) upon incorporation of spin-orbit coupling (SOC) reveal that Hg2Cl2 is a wide band gap charge transfer (CT) insulator with band gap energy (Eg) ∼ 3.96 eV. Despite being a CT insulator, the orbital resolved PDOS of Hg2Cl2 compound exhibit energy dispositions that do not obey the Zaanen – Sawatzky – Allen (ZSA) diagram. The effect of on-site Coulomb repulsion (Hubbard +Udd) on the band gap of the compound has also been studied in detail. The Mulliken bond population, electronic charge density distribution and Bader charges analyses have been explored to unveil the covalent and ionic interactions between Hg and Cl atoms of the Hg2Cl2 compound. The Natural Bond Orbital (NBO) analyses have been performed to gain deeper insights on the CT interactions between Hg and Cl atoms of Hg2Cl2. The rationale behind the distortions of the octahedral domains within Hg2Cl2 crystal has also been elucidated in detail.