Names | |
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IUPAC name Mercury sulfide | |
Other names | |
Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol) | |
ECHA InfoCard | 100.014.270 |
EC Number |
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PubChem CID | |
UNII | |
UN number | 2025 |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA) | |
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Properties | |
HgS | |
Molar mass | 232.66 g/mol |
Density | 8.10 g/cm3 |
Melting point | 580 °C (1,076 °F; 853 K) decomposes |
insoluble | |
Band gap | 2.1 eV (direct, α-HgS) [1] |
−55.4·10−6 cm3/mol | |
Refractive index (nD) | w=2.905, e=3.256, bire=0.3510 (α-HgS) [2] |
Thermochemistry | |
Std molar entropy (S⦵298) | 78 J·mol−1·K−1 [3] |
Std enthalpy of formation (ΔfH⦵298) | −58 kJ·mol−1 [3] |
Hazards | |
GHS labelling: | |
Danger | |
H300, H310, H317, H330, H373, H410 | |
P261, P272, P280, P302+P352, P321, P333+P313, P363, P501 | |
NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
Flash point | Non-flammable |
Safety data sheet (SDS) | Fisher Scientific |
Related compounds | |
Other anions | Mercury oxide mercury selenide mercury telluride |
Other cations | Zinc sulfide cadmium sulfide |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa). |
Mercury sulfide, or mercury(II) sulfide is a chemical compound composed of the chemical elements mercury and sulfur. It is represented by the chemical formula HgS. It is virtually insoluble in water. [4]
HgS is dimorphic with two crystal forms:
β-HgS precipitates as a black solid when Hg(II) salts are treated with H2S. The reaction is conveniently conducted with an acetic acid solution of mercury(II) acetate. With gentle heating of the slurry, the black polymorph converts to the red form. [6] β-HgS is unreactive to all but concentrated acids. [4]
Mercury is produced from the cinnabar ore by roasting in air and condensing the vapour. [4]
When α-HgS is used as a red pigment, it is known as vermilion. The tendency of vermilion to darken has been ascribed to conversion from red α-HgS to black β-HgS. However β-HgS was not detected at excavations in Pompeii, where originally red walls darkened, and was attributed to the formation of Hg-Cl compounds (e.g., corderoite, calomel, and terlinguaite) and calcium sulfate, gypsum. [7]
As the mercury cell as used in the chlor-alkali industry (Castner–Kellner process) is being phased out over concerns over mercury emissions, the metallic mercury from these setups is converted into mercury sulfide for underground storage.
With a band gap of 2.1 eV and its stability, it is possible to be used as photoelectrochemical cell. [8]
Cinnabar, or cinnabarite, is the bright scarlet to brick-red form of mercury(II) sulfide (HgS). It is the most common source ore for refining elemental mercury and is the historic source for the brilliant red or scarlet pigment termed vermilion and associated red mercury pigments.
Vermilion is a color family and pigment most often used between antiquity and the 19th century from the powdered mineral cinnabar. It is synonymous with red orange, which often takes a modern form, but is 11% brighter.
Cadmium arsenide (Cd3As2) is an inorganic semimetal in the II-V family. It exhibits the Nernst effect.
Cadmium sulfide is the inorganic compound with the formula CdS. Cadmium sulfide is a yellow salt. It occurs in nature with two different crystal structures as the rare minerals greenockite and hawleyite, but is more prevalent as an impurity substituent in the similarly structured zinc ores sphalerite and wurtzite, which are the major economic sources of cadmium. As a compound that is easy to isolate and purify, it is the principal source of cadmium for all commercial applications. Its vivid yellow color led to its adoption as a pigment for the yellow paint "cadmium yellow" in the 18th century.
Mercury(II) oxide, also called mercuric oxide or simply mercury oxide, is the inorganic compound with the formula HgO. 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.
In crystallography, polymorphism describes the phenomenon where a compound or element can crystallize into more than one crystal structure. The preceding definition has evolved over many years and is still under discussion today. Discussion of the defining characteristics of polymorphism involves distinguishing among types of transitions and structural changes occurring in polymorphism versus those in other phenomena.
Mercury selenide is a chemical compound of mercury and selenium. It is a grey-black crystalline solid semi-metal with a sphalerite structure. The lattice constant is 0.608 nm.
Mercury(II) iodide is a chemical compound with the molecular formula HgI2. It is typically produced synthetically but can also be found in nature as the extremely rare mineral coccinite. Unlike the related mercury(II) chloride it is hardly soluble in water (<100 ppm).
Mercury(II) acetate, also known as mercuric acetate is a chemical compound, the mercury(II) salt of acetic acid, with the formula Hg(O2CCH3)2. Commonly abbreviated Hg(OAc)2, this compound is employed as a reagent to generate organomercury compounds from unsaturated organic precursors. It is a white, water-soluble solid, but some samples can appear yellowish with time owing to decomposition.
Indium(III) sulfide (Indium sesquisulfide, Indium sulfide (2:3), Indium (3+) sulfide) is the inorganic compound with the formula In2S3.
Samarium(III) sulfide (Sm2S3) is a chemical compound of the rare earth element samarium, and sulfur. In this compound samarium is in the +3 oxidation state, and sulfur is an anion in the −2 state.
Mercury(I) sulfide or mercurous sulfide is a hypothetical chemical compound of mercury and sulfur, with elemental formula Hg
2S. Its existence has been disputed; it may be stable below 0 °C or in suitable environments, but is unstable at room temperature, decomposing into metallic mercury and mercury(II) sulfide.
The indium chalcogenides include all compounds of indium with the chalcogen elements, oxygen, sulfur, selenium and tellurium. (Polonium is excluded as little is known about its compounds with indium). The best-characterised compounds are the In(III) and In(II) chalcogenides e.g. the sulfides In2S3 and InS.
This group of compounds has attracted a lot of research attention because they include semiconductors, photovoltaics and phase-change materials. In many applications indium chalcogenides are used as the basis of ternary and quaternary compounds such as indium tin oxide, ITO and copper indium gallium selenide, CIGS.
Tin(II) sulfide is a chemical compound of tin and sulfur. The chemical formula is SnS. Its natural occurrence concerns herzenbergite (α-SnS), a rare mineral. At elevated temperatures above 905 K, SnS undergoes a second order phase transition to β-SnS (space group: Cmcm, No. 63). In recent years, it has become evident that a new polymorph of SnS exists based upon the cubic crystal system, known as π-SnS (space group: P213, No. 198).
Alacránite (As8S9) is an arsenic sulfide mineral first discovered in the Uzon caldera, Kamchatka, Russia. It was named for its occurrence in the Alacrán silver/arsenic/antimony mine. Pampa Larga, Chile. It is generally more rare than realgar and orpiment. Its origin is hydrothermal. It occurs as subhedral to euhedral tabular orange to pale gray crystals that are transparent to translucent. It has a yellow-orange streak with a hardness of 1.5. It crystallizes in the monoclinic crystal system. It occurs with realgar and uzonite as flattened and prismatic grains up to 0.5 mm across.
Gallium(III) sulfide, Ga2S3, is a compound of sulfur and gallium, that is a semiconductor that has applications in electronics and photonics.
Rhenium disulfide is an inorganic compound of rhenium and sulfur with the formula ReS2. It has a layered structure where atoms are strongly bonded within each layer. The layers are held together by weak Van der Waals bonds, and can be easily peeled off from the bulk material.
Cerium(III) sulfide, also known as cerium sesquisulfide, is an inorganic compound with the formula Ce2S3. It is the sulfide salt of cerium(III) and exists as three polymorphs with different crystal structures.
Chromium(II) sulfide is an inorganic compound of chromium and sulfur with the chemical formula CrS. The compound forms black hexagonal crystals, insoluble in water.
Edoylerite is a rare mercury-containing mineral. Edoylerite was first discovered in 1961 by Edward H. Oyler, whom the mineral is named after, in a meter-sized boulder at the Clear Creek claim in San Benito County, California. The Clear Creek claim is located near the abandoned Clear Creek mercury mine. The material from the boulder underwent several analyses including, X-ray powder diffraction (XRD), a single crystal study, and a preliminary electron microprobe analysis (EMA). Using these analyses it was determined that this was a new mineral but the nature of the material at the time prevented further investigation. It was not until 1986, with the discovery of crystals large enough for a crystal structure determination and a sufficient quantity for a full mineralogical characterization, that the study was renewed. The new edoylerite crystals were found in the same area at the Clear Creek claim but were situated in an outcrop of silica-carbonate rock. This silica-carbonate rock was mineralized by cinnabar following the hydrothermal alteration of the serpentinite in the rock. Edoylerite is a primary alteration product of cinnabar. Though found with cinnabar, the crystals of edoylerite do not typically exceed 0.5mm in length. The ideal chemical formula for edoylerite is Hg32+Cr6+O4S2