Mercury(I) iodide

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Mercury(I) iodide
Mercury(I)-iodide-xtal-3D-SF.png
Names
IUPAC name
Dimercury diiodide
Other names
Mercury(I) iodide
Mercurous iodide
Red mercury
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.035.811 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
EC Number
  • 239-409-6
PubChem CID
UNII
UN number 1638
  • InChI=1S/2Hg.2HI/h;;2*1H/q2*+1;;/p-2
    Key: NDKKKEPYKOOXLG-UHFFFAOYSA-L
  • I[Hg][Hg]I
Properties
Hg
2
I
2
Molar mass 654.99 g mol−1
AppearanceDark yellow, opaque crystals
Odor Odourless
Density 7.7 g mL−1
5.2×1029 [1]
41.5·10−6 cm3/mol
Thermochemistry
Std molar
entropy
(S298)
241.47 J K−1 mol−1
−119.09 kJ mol−1
Hazards
GHS labelling:
GHS-pictogram-skull.svg GHS-pictogram-silhouette.svg GHS-pictogram-pollu.svg
Danger
H300, H310, H330, H373, H410
P260, P273, P280, P284, P301+P310
Related compounds
Other anions
Mercury(I) bromide
Mercury(I) chloride
Mercury(I) fluoride
Related compounds
Mercury(II) iodide
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
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Mercury(I) iodide is a chemical compound of mercury and iodine. The chemical formula is Hg2I2. It is photosensitive and decomposes easily to mercury and HgI2.

Contents

Synthesis

Mercury(I) iodide can be prepared by directly reacting mercury and iodine.

Structure

In common with other Hg(I) (mercurous) compounds which contain linear X-Hg-Hg-X units, Hg2I2 contains linear IHg2I units with an Hg-Hg bond length of 272 pm (Hg-Hg in the metal is 300 pm) and an Hg-I bond length of 268 pm. [2] The overall coordination of each Hg atom is octahedral as it has in addition to the two nearest neighbours there are four other I atoms at 351 pm. [2] The compound is often formulated as Hg22+ 2I. [3]

Historical Uses

Mercury(I) iodide was a commonly used as a drug in the 19th century, sometimes under the contemporary name of protiodide of mercury. It was used to treat a wide range of conditions; everything from acne to kidney disease and in particular was the treatment of choice for syphilis. It was available over the counter at any drugstore in the world, the most common form being a concoction of protiodide, licorice, glycerin and marshmallow.[ citation needed ]

Taken orally, and in low doses, protiodide causes excessive salivation, fetid breath, spongy and bleeding gums and sore teeth. Excessive use or an overdose causes physical weakness, loss of teeth, hemolysing (destruction of the red blood cells) of the blood and necrosis of the bones and tissues of the body. Early signs of an overdose or excessive use are muscular tremors, chorea, and locomotor ataxia. Violent bloody vomiting and voiding also occur.

Protiodide is banned as a medication, even though it persisted in use as a quack remedy until the early 20th century.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Iodine</span> Chemical element, symbol I and atomic number 53

Iodine is a chemical element; it has symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists at standard conditions as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid that melts to form a deep violet liquid at 114 °C (237 °F), and boils to a violet gas at 184 °C (363 °F). The element was discovered by the French chemist Bernard Courtois in 1811 and was named two years later by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac, after the Ancient Greek Ιώδης 'violet-coloured'.

An iodide ion is the ion I. Compounds with iodine in formal oxidation state −1 are called iodides. In everyday life, iodide is most commonly encountered as a component of iodized salt, which many governments mandate. Worldwide, iodine deficiency affects two billion people and is the leading preventable cause of intellectual disability.

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

Lead(II) iodide is a chemical compound with the formula PbI
2
. At room temperature, it is a bright yellow odorless crystalline solid, that becomes orange and red when heated. It was formerly called plumbous iodide.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury(I) chloride</span> Chemical compound

Mercury(I) chloride is the chemical compound with the formula Hg2Cl2. Also known as the mineral calomel (a rare mineral) or mercurous chloride, this dense white or yellowish-white, odorless solid is the principal example of a mercury(I) compound. It is a component of reference electrodes in electrochemistry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hydrogen iodide</span> Chemical compound

Hydrogen iodide (HI) is a diatomic molecule and hydrogen halide. Aqueous solutions of HI are known as hydroiodic acid or hydriodic acid, a strong acid. Hydrogen iodide and hydroiodic acid are, however, different in that the former is a gas under standard conditions, whereas the other is an aqueous solution of the gas. They are interconvertible. HI is used in organic and inorganic synthesis as one of the primary sources of iodine and as a reducing agent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sodium iodide</span> Chemical compound

Sodium iodide (chemical formula NaI) is an ionic compound formed from the chemical reaction of sodium metal and iodine. Under standard conditions, it is a white, water-soluble solid comprising a 1:1 mix of sodium cations (Na+) and iodide anions (I) in a crystal lattice. It is used mainly as a nutritional supplement and in organic chemistry. It is produced industrially as the salt formed when acidic iodides react with sodium hydroxide. It is a chaotropic salt.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Triiodide</span> Ion

In chemistry, triiodide usually refers to the triiodide ion, I
3
. This anion, one of the polyhalogen ions, is composed of three iodine atoms. It is formed by combining aqueous solutions of iodide salts and iodine. Some salts of the anion have been isolated, including thallium(I) triiodide (Tl+[I3]) and ammonium triiodide ([NH4]+[I3]). Triiodide is observed to be a red colour in solution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Copper(I) iodide</span> Chemical compound

Copper(I) iodide is the inorganic compound with the formula CuI. It is also known as cuprous iodide. It is useful in a variety of applications ranging from organic synthesis to cloud seeding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Zinc iodide</span> Chemical compound

Zinc iodide is the inorganic compound with the formula ZnI2. It exists both in anhydrous form and as a dihydrate. Both are white and readily absorb water from the atmosphere. It has no major application.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thallium(I) iodide</span> Chemical compound

Thallium(I) iodide is a chemical compound with the formula TlI. It is unusual in being one of the few water-insoluble metal iodides, along with AgI, CuI, SnI2, SnI4, PbI2 and HgI2.

Iodine compounds are compounds containing the element iodine. Iodine can form compounds using multiple oxidation states. Iodine is quite reactive, but it is much less reactive than the other halogens. For example, while chlorine gas will halogenate carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and sulfur dioxide, iodine will not do so. Furthermore, iodination of metals tends to result in lower oxidation states than chlorination or bromination; for example, rhenium metal reacts with chlorine to form rhenium hexachloride, but with bromine it forms only rhenium pentabromide and iodine can achieve only rhenium tetraiodide. By the same token, however, since iodine has the lowest ionisation energy among the halogens and is the most easily oxidised of them, it has a more significant cationic chemistry and its higher oxidation states are rather more stable than those of bromine and chlorine, for example in iodine heptafluoride.

The polyiodides are a class of polyhalogen anions composed entirely of iodine atoms. The most common member is the triiodide ion, I
3
. Other known larger polyiodides include [I4]2−, [I5], [I6]2−, [I7], [I8]2−, [I9], [I10]2−, [I10]4−, [I11]3−, [I12]2−, [I13]3−, [I14]4-, [I16]2−, [I22]4−, [I26]3−, [I26]4−, [I28]4− and [I29]3−. All these can be considered as formed from the interaction of the I, I2, and I
3
building blocks.

Mercury(I) bromide or mercurous bromide is the chemical compound composed of mercury and bromine with the formula Hg2Br2. It changes color from white to yellow when heated and fluoresces a salmon color when exposed to ultraviolet light. It has applications in acousto-optical devices.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mercury(I) fluoride</span> Chemical compound

Mercury(I) fluoride or mercurous fluoride is the chemical compound composed of mercury and fluorine with the formula Hg2F2. It consists of small yellow cubic crystals, which turn black when exposed to light.

Mercury polycations are polyatomic cations that contain only mercury atoms. The best known example is the Hg2+
2
ion, found in mercury(I) (mercurous) compounds. The existence of the metal–metal bond in Hg(I) compounds was established using X-ray studies in 1927 and Raman spectroscopy in 1934 making it one of the earliest, if not the first, metal–metal covalent bonds to be characterised.

Polyhalogen ions are a group of polyatomic cations and anions containing halogens only. The ions can be classified into two classes, isopolyhalogen ions which contain one type of halogen only, and heteropolyhalogen ions with more than one type of halogen.

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

Neodymium(II) iodide or neodymium diiodide is an inorganic salt of iodine and neodymium the formula NdI2. Neodymium uses the +2 oxidation state in the compound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Praseodymium diiodide</span> Chemical compound

Praseodymium diiodide is a chemical compound with the empirical formula of PrI2, consisting of praseodymium and iodine. It is an electride, with the ionic formula of Pr3+(I)2e, and therefore not a true praseodymium(II) compound.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lanthanum(III) iodide</span> Chemical compound

Lanthanum(III) iodide is an inorganic compound containing lanthanum and iodine with the chemical formula LaI
3
.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lutetium(III) iodide</span> Chemical compound

Lutetium(III) iodide or lutetium iodide is an inorganic compound consisting of iodine and lutetium, with the chemical formula of LuI3.

References

  1. John Rumble (June 18, 2018). CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (99 ed.). CRC Press. pp. 5–189. ISBN   978-1138561632.
  2. 1 2 Wells A.F. (1984) Structural Inorganic Chemistry 5th edition Oxford Science Publications ISBN   0-19-855370-6
  3. Cotton, F. Albert; Wilkinson, Geoffrey; Murillo, Carlos A.; Bochmann, Manfred (1999), Advanced Inorganic Chemistry (6th ed.), New York: Wiley-Interscience, ISBN   0-471-19957-5