Names | |
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IUPAC name Mercury(II) oxide | |
Other names | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ChemSpider | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.040.580 |
KEGG | |
PubChem CID | |
RTECS number |
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UNII | |
UN number | 1641 |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
HgO | |
Molar mass | 216.591 g·mol−1 |
Appearance | Yellow or red solid |
Odor | odorless |
Density | 11.14 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 500 °C (932 °F; 773 K) (decomposes) |
0.0053 g/100 mL (25 °C) 0.0395 g/100 mL (100 °C) | |
Solubility | insoluble in alcohol, ether, acetone, ammonia |
Band gap | 2.2 eV [1] |
−44.0·10−6 cm3/mol | |
Refractive index (nD) | 2.5 (550 nm) [1] |
Thermochemistry | |
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 70 J·mol−1·K−1 [2] |
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −90 kJ·mol−1 [2] |
Hazards | |
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH): | |
Main hazards | Extremely toxic, environmental pollutant |
GHS labelling: [3] | |
Danger | |
H300+H310+H330, H372, H410 | |
P260, P262, P264, P270, P271, P273, P280, P284, P301+P316, P302+P352, P304+P340, P316, P320, P321, P330, P361+P364, P391, P403+P233, P405, P501 | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
Flash point | Non-flammable |
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC): | |
LD50 (median dose) | 18 mg/kg (oral, rat) [5] |
Safety data sheet (SDS) | ICSC 0981 |
Related compounds | |
Other anions | Mercury sulfide Mercury selenide Mercury telluride |
Other cations | Zinc oxide Cadmium oxide |
Related compounds | Mercury(I) oxide |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Mercury(II) oxide, also called mercuric oxide or simply mercury oxide, is the inorganic compound with the formula Hg O. It has a red or orange color. Mercury(II) oxide is a solid at room temperature and pressure. The mineral form montroydite is very rarely found.
An experiment for the preparation of mercuric oxide was first described by 11th century Arab-Spanish alchemist, Maslama al-Majriti, in Rutbat al-hakim. [6] It was historically called red precipitate (as opposed to white precepitate being the mercuric amidochloride).
In 1774, Joseph Priestley discovered that oxygen was released by heating mercuric oxide, although he did not identify the gas as oxygen (rather, Priestley called it "dephlogisticated air," as that was the paradigm that he was working under at the time). [7]
The red form of HgO can be made by heating Hg in oxygen at roughly 350 °C, or by pyrolysis of Hg(NO3)2. [8] The yellow form can be obtained by precipitation of aqueous Hg2+ with alkali. [8] The difference in color is due to particle size; both forms have the same structure consisting of near linear O-Hg-O units linked in zigzag chains with an Hg-O-Hg angle of 108°. [8]
It is sometimes said that HgO "is soluble in acids", [9] but in fact it reacts with acids to make mercuric salts.
Under atmospheric pressure mercuric oxide has two crystalline forms: one is called montroydite (orthorhombic, 2/m 2/m 2/m, Pnma), and the second is analogous to the sulfide mineral cinnabar (hexagonal, hP6, P3221); both are characterized by Hg-O chains. [10] At pressures above 10 GPa both structures convert to a tetragonal form. [1]
Mercury oxide is sometimes used in the production of mercury as it decomposes quite easily. When it decomposes, oxygen gas is generated.[ citation needed ]
It is also used as a material for cathodes in mercury batteries. [11]
Mercury oxide is a highly toxic substance which can be absorbed into the body by inhalation of its aerosol, through the skin and by ingestion. The substance is irritating to the eyes, the skin and the respiratory tract and may have effects on the kidneys, resulting in kidney impairment. In the food chain important to humans, bioaccumulation takes place, specifically in aquatic organisms. The substance is banned as a pesticide in the EU. [12]
Evaporation at 20 °C is negligible. HgO decomposes on exposure to light or on heating above 500 °C. Heating produces highly toxic mercury fumes and oxygen, which increases the fire hazard. Mercury(II) oxide reacts violently with reducing agents, chlorine, hydrogen peroxide, magnesium (when heated), disulfur dichloride and hydrogen trisulfide. Shock-sensitive compounds are formed with metals and elements such as sulfur and phosphorus. [13]
Nitrogen is a chemical element; it has symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at seventh in total abundance in the Milky Way and the Solar System. At standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bond to form N2, a colorless and odorless diatomic gas. N2 forms about 78% of Earth's atmosphere, making it the most abundant chemical species in air. Because of the volatility of nitrogen compounds, nitrogen is relatively rare in the solid parts of the Earth.
Oxygen is a chemical element; it has symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group in the periodic table, a highly reactive nonmetal, and an oxidizing agent that readily forms oxides with most elements as well as with other compounds. Oxygen is the most abundant element in Earth's crust, and after hydrogen and helium, it is the third-most abundant element in the universe. At standard temperature and pressure, two atoms of the element bind to form dioxygen, a colorless and odorless diatomic gas with the formula O
2. Diatomic oxygen gas currently constitutes 20.95% of the Earth's atmosphere, though this has changed considerably over long periods of time. Oxygen makes up almost half of the Earth's crust in the form of oxides.
An oxide is a chemical compound containing at least one oxygen atom and one other element in its chemical formula. "Oxide" itself is the dianion of oxygen, an O2– ion with oxygen in the oxidation state of −2. Most of the Earth's crust consists of oxides. Even materials considered pure elements often develop an oxide coating. For example, aluminium foil develops a thin skin of Al2O3 that protects the foil from further oxidation.
Cyanogen is the chemical compound with the formula (CN)2. The simplest stable carbon nitride, it is a colorless and highly toxic gas with a pungent odor. The molecule is a pseudohalogen. Cyanogen molecules consist of two CN groups – analogous to diatomic halogen molecules, such as Cl2, but far less oxidizing. The two cyano groups are bonded together at their carbon atoms: N≡C‒C≡N, although other isomers have been detected. The name is also used for the CN radical, and hence is used for compounds such as cyanogen bromide (NCBr) (but see also Cyano radical.). When burned at increased pressure with oxygen, it is possible to get a blue tinted flame, the temperature of which is approximately 4 800 °C (A higher temperature is possible with ozone.). It is as such regarded as the gas with the second highest temperature of burning (after Dicyanoacetylene)
In chemistry, disproportionation, sometimes called dismutation, is a redox reaction in which one compound of intermediate oxidation state converts to two compounds, one of higher and one of lower oxidation states. The reverse of disproportionation, such as when a compound in an intermediate oxidation state is formed from precursors of lower and higher oxidation states, is called comproportionation, also known as synproportionation.
Dichlorine monoxide is an inorganic compound with the molecular formula Cl2O. It was first synthesised in 1834 by Antoine Jérôme Balard, who along with Gay-Lussac also determined its composition. In older literature it is often referred to as chlorine monoxide, which can be a source of confusion as that name now refers to the ClO• radical.
Sodium peroxide is an inorganic compound with the formula Na2O2. This yellowish solid is the product of sodium ignited in excess oxygen. It is a strong base. This metal peroxide exists in several hydrates and peroxyhydrates including Na2O2·2H2O2·4H2O, Na2O2·2H2O, Na2O2·2H2O2, and Na2O2·8H2O. The octahydrate, which is simple to prepare, is white, in contrast to the anhydrous material.
Thermal decomposition, or thermolysis, is a chemical decomposition of a substance caused by heat. The decomposition temperature of a substance is the temperature at which the substance chemically decomposes. The reaction is usually endothermic as heat is required to break chemical bonds in the compound undergoing decomposition. If decomposition is sufficiently exothermic, a positive feedback loop is created producing thermal runaway and possibly an explosion or other chemical reaction.
Lead(IV) oxide, commonly known as lead dioxide, is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula PbO2. It is an oxide where lead is in an oxidation state of +4. It is a dark-brown solid which is insoluble in water. It exists in two crystalline forms. It has several important applications in electrochemistry, in particular as the positive plate of lead acid batteries.
Mercury(II) cyanide, also known as mercuric cyanide, is a poisonous compound of mercury and cyanide. It is an odorless, toxic white powder. It is highly soluble in polar solvents such as water, alcohol, and ammonia, slightly soluble in ether, and insoluble in benzene and other hydrophobic solvents.
A uranate is a ternary oxide involving the element uranium in one of the oxidation states 4, 5 or 6. A typical chemical formula is MxUyOz, where M represents a cation. The uranium atom in uranates(VI) has two short collinear U–O bonds and either four or six more next nearest oxygen atoms. The structures are infinite lattice structures with the uranium atoms linked by bridging oxygen atoms.
The dioxygenyl ion, O+
2, is a rarely-encountered oxycation in which both oxygen atoms have a formal oxidation state of +1/2. It is formally derived from oxygen by the removal of an electron:
Manganese(II) oxide is an inorganic compound with chemical formula MnO. It forms green crystals. The compound is produced on a large scale as a component of fertilizers and food additives.
In chemistry, molecular oxohalides (oxyhalides) are a group of chemical compounds in which both oxygen and halogen atoms are attached to another chemical element A in a single molecule. They have the general formula AOmXn, where X is a halogen. Known oxohalides have fluorine (F), chlorine (Cl), bromine (Br), and/or iodine (I) in their molecules. The element A may be a main group element, a transition element, a rare earth element or an actinide. The term oxohalide, or oxyhalide, may also refer to minerals and other crystalline substances with the same overall chemical formula, but having an ionic structure.
Fluorine forms a great variety of chemical compounds, within which it always adopts an oxidation state of −1. With other atoms, fluorine forms either polar covalent bonds or ionic bonds. Most frequently, covalent bonds involving fluorine atoms are single bonds, although at least two examples of a higher order bond exist. Fluoride may act as a bridging ligand between two metals in some complex molecules. Molecules containing fluorine may also exhibit hydrogen bonding. Fluorine's chemistry includes inorganic compounds formed with hydrogen, metals, nonmetals, and even noble gases; as well as a diverse set of organic compounds. For many elements the highest known oxidation state can be achieved in a fluoride. For some elements this is achieved exclusively in a fluoride, for others exclusively in an oxide; and for still others the highest oxidation states of oxides and fluorides are always equal.
Sodium hyponitrite is a solid ionic compound with formula Na
2N
2O
2 or (Na+
)2[ON=NO]2−.
Dibromine monoxide is the chemical compound composed of bromine and oxygen with the formula Br2O. It is a dark brown solid which is stable below −40 °C and is used in bromination reactions. It is similar to dichlorine monoxide, the monoxide of its halogen neighbor one period higher on the periodic table. The molecule is bent, with C2v molecular symmetry. The Br−O bond length is 1.85 Å and the Br−O−Br bond angle is 112°, similar to dichlorine monoxide.
A chloride sulfite or sulfite chloride is a chemical compound that contains chloride and sulfite anions (SO32− Cl−). The known compounds of this type are all late transition metal sulfito complexes. Chlorine may be present as a ligand (chloro) or as an ion (chloride). The sulfito ligand can connect to the metal atom by way of an oxygen, or a sulfur atom. It can also link to the metal atom using two oxygen atoms as a bidentate ligand.
Gallium compounds are compounds containing the element gallium. These compounds are found primarily in the +3 oxidation state. The +1 oxidation state is also found in some compounds, although it is less common than it is for gallium's heavier congeners indium and thallium. For example, the very stable GaCl2 contains both gallium(I) and gallium(III) and can be formulated as GaIGaIIICl4; in contrast, the monochloride is unstable above 0 °C, disproportionating into elemental gallium and gallium(III) chloride. Compounds containing Ga–Ga bonds are true gallium(II) compounds, such as GaS (which can be formulated as Ga24+(S2−)2) and the dioxan complex Ga2Cl4(C4H8O2)2. There are also compounds of gallium with negative oxidation states, ranging from -5 to -1, most of these compounds being magnesium gallides (MgxGay).
Americium compounds are compounds containing the element americium (Am). These compounds can form in the +2, +3, and +4, although the +3 oxidation state is the most common. The +5, +6 and +7 oxidation states have also been reported.
Mercury(II) oxide anode mercury battery.