Mercury(II) oxide

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Mercury(II) oxide
HgOpowder.jpg
Montroydite-3D-ionic.png
Names
IUPAC name
Mercury(II) oxide
Other names
Mercuric oxide
Montroydite
Red mercury
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.040.580 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
KEGG
PubChem CID
RTECS number
  • OW8750000
UNII
UN number 1641
  • InChI=1S/Hg.O Yes check.svgY
    Key: UKWHYYKOEPRTIC-UHFFFAOYSA-N Yes check.svgY
  • [Hg]=O
Properties
HgO
Molar mass 216.591 g·mol−1
AppearanceYellow 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
2.5 (550 nm) [1]
Thermochemistry
Std molar
entropy
(S298)
70 J·mol−1·K−1 [2]
−90 kJ·mol−1 [2]
Hazards
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH):
Main hazards
Extremely toxic, environmental pollutant
GHS labelling: [3]
GHS-pictogram-skull.svg GHS-pictogram-silhouette.svg GHS-pictogram-pollu.svg
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)
[4]
NFPA 704.svgHealth 4: Very short exposure could cause death or major residual injury. E.g. VX gasFlammability 0: Will not burn. E.g. waterInstability 1: Normally stable, but can become unstable at elevated temperatures and pressures. E.g. calciumSpecial hazards (white): no code
4
0
1
Flash point Non-flammable
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
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).
X mark.svgN  verify  (what is  Yes check.svgYX mark.svgN ?)

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.

Contents

History

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]

Synthesis and reactions

Montroydite structure (red atoms are oxygen) Montroydite.jpg
Montroydite structure (red atoms are oxygen)
Cinnabar structure Cinnabar structure.jpg
Cinnabar structure

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.

Structure

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]

Uses

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]

Health issues

The label on an HgO powder bottle. HgOlabel.jpg
The label on an HgO powder bottle.

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]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nitrogen</span> Chemical element with atomic number 7 (N)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxygen</span> Chemical element with atomic number 8 (O)

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Oxide</span> Chemical compound where oxygen atoms are combined with atoms of other elements

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)

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dichlorine monoxide</span> Chemical compound

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.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thermal decomposition</span> Chemical decomposition caused by heat

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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.

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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.

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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:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Manganese(II) oxide</span> Chemical compound

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O
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References

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