Mercury(I) nitrate

Last updated
Mercury(I) nitrate [1]
Mercury(I) nitrate dihydrate.vk.jpg
Names
IUPAC name
Mercury(I) nitrate
Other names
Mercurous nitrate
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.202.814 OOjs UI icon edit-ltr-progressive.svg
EC Number
  • (anhydrous):233-886-4
PubChem CID
UNII
UN number 1627
  • (anhydrous):InChI=1S/Hg.NO3/c;2-1(3)4/q+1;-1
    Key: DRXYRSRECMWYAV-UHFFFAOYSA-N
  • (dihydrate):InChI=1S/2Hg.2NO3.2H2O/c;;2*2-1(3)4;;/h;;;;2*1H2/q2*+1;2*-1;;
    Key: LSABZDVKJBWCBE-UHFFFAOYSA-N
  • (anhydrous):[N+](=O)([O-])[O-].[Hg+][Hg+].[N+](=O)([O-])[O-]
  • (dihydrate):[N+](=O)([O-])[O-].[OH2+][Hg][Hg][OH2+].[N+](=O)([O-])[O-]
Properties
Hg2(NO3)2 (anhydrous)
Hg2(NO3)2·2H2O (dihydrate)
Molar mass 525.19 g/mol (anhydrous)
561.22 g/mol (dihydrate)
Appearancewhite monoclinic crystals (anhydrous)
colorless crystals (dihydrate)
Density  ? g/cm3 (anhydrous)
4.8 g/cm3 (dihydrate)
Melting point  ? (anhydrous)
decomposes at 70 °C (dihydrate)
slightly soluble, reacts
27.95·10−6 cm3/mol
Hazards
GHS labelling: [2]
GHS-pictogram-skull.svg GHS-pictogram-silhouette.svg GHS-pictogram-pollu.svg
Danger
H300, H310, H330, H373, H410
P260, P262, P264, P270, P271, P273, P280, P284, P301+P316, P302+P352, P304+P340, P316, P319, P320, P321, P330, P361+P364, P391, P403+P233, P405, P501
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
NFPA 704.svgHealth 3: Short exposure could cause serious temporary or residual injury. E.g. chlorine gasFlammability 1: Must be pre-heated before ignition can occur. Flash point over 93 °C (200 °F). E.g. canola oilInstability 1: Normally stable, but can become unstable at elevated temperatures and pressures. E.g. calciumSpecial hazard OX: Oxidizer. E.g. potassium perchlorate
3
1
1
OX
Related compounds
Other anions
Mercury(I) fluoride
Mercury(I) chloride
Mercury(I) bromide
Mercury(I) iodide
Other cations
Mercury(II) nitrate
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) nitrate is an inorganic compound, a salt of mercury and nitric acid with the formula Hg2(NO3)2. A yellow solid, the compound is used as a precursor to other Hg22+ complexes. The structure of the hydrate has been determined by X-ray crystallography. It consists of a [H2O-Hg-Hg-OH2]2+ center, with a Hg-Hg distance of 254 pm. [3]

It was first mentioned by Prafulla Chandra Ray in 1896. [4]

Reactions

Mercury(I) nitrate is formed when elemental mercury is combined with dilute nitric acid (concentrated nitric acid will yield mercury(II) nitrate). Mercury(I) nitrate is a reducing agent which is oxidized upon contact with air.

Mercuric(II) nitrate reacts with elemental mercury(0) to form mercurous(I) nitrate (comproportionation reaction):[ citation needed ]

Hg(NO3)2 + Hg ⇌ Hg2(NO3)2

Solutions of mercury(I) nitrate are acidic due to slow reaction with water:

Hg2(NO3)2 + H2O ⇌ Hg2(NO3)(OH) + HNO3

Hg2(NO3)(OH) forms a yellow precipitate.

If the solution is boiled, or exposed to light, mercury(I) nitrate undergoes a disproportionation reaction yielding elemental mercury and mercury(II) nitrate: [5]

Hg2(NO3)2 ⇌ Hg + Hg(NO3)2

These reactions are reversible; the nitric acid formed can redissolve the basic salt.[ citation needed ]

References

  1. Lide, David R. (1998), Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (87 ed.), Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, pp. 4–45, ISBN   0-8493-0594-2
  2. "Mercurous nitrate". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov.
  3. D. Grdenić (1956). "The crystal Structure of Mercurous Nitrate Dihydrate". Journal of the Chemical Society: 1312–1316. doi:10.1039/jr9560001312.
  4. Samanta, Subhas; Goswami, Sreebrata; Chakravorty, Animesh (February 2011). "On mercurous nitrite and a basic mercurous nitrate derivative" (PDF). Indian Journal of Chemistry. 50A (2): 137–140. ISSN   0975-0975.
  5. Patnaik, Pradyot (2003), Handbook of Inorganic Chemical Compounds, McGraw-Hill Professional, p. 573, ISBN   0-07-049439-8 , retrieved 2009-07-20