Mercury Oxide

Researchhistory

Asearlyas2000yearsago,thebook"ShenNong'sBenCaoJing"compiledintheQinandHandynastiesrecordedthesituationrelatedtomercurymines.Themercuryminesarecalledcinnabar.,Danshaandmercury,etc.,andareincludedinthecategoryofdrugs.Ithasbeendiscoveredthatifoxygen-containingsubstancesareaddedtomercury,amercuryoxidepowdercompoundisformed,whichiscalled"ThreeImmortals."Inmanyancientmedicalbooks,themedicinalvalueoftheThreeImmortalsPillisdescribedindetail.Alchemistsalsousemercuryoxideasacommonrawmaterial.

Inmoderntimes,peoplehaveadeeperunderstandingofmercuryoxide.In1774,BritishscientistPriestleyplacedthemercuryoxideonthemercurysurfaceintheglassbelljar,andusedamagnifyingglasstoconcentratesunlightonthemercuryoxide.superior.Soonitwasdiscoveredthatthemercuryoxidewasdecomposed,releasingakindofgas,squeezingoutthemercuryintheglasscover.Hecollectedthisgasbydrainingandcollectinggas,andthenstudieditsproperties.Priestleyignitedthedrywoodenstickandputitinaglassbottle,andfoundthatthewoodenstickburnedmorevigorouslyandtheflamewasbrighter.Asaresult,oxygenwasproducedforthefirsttime,andexperimentswereusedtoprovethatoxygenhasthepropertiesofsupportingcombustionandrespiration.In1777,Lavoisierdiscoveredthatoxygenandmercurycanbeobtainedbyheatingoxidizedmercury.Heusedexperimentstoprovethelawofconservationofmassinchemicalreactions,proposedtheoxidationtheoryofcombustion,overturnedthephlogistictheory,andenabledmodernchemistrytoflourish.

Physicalandchemicalproperties

Brightredororange-redscalycrystalsorcrystallinepowder.Whenthepowderisextremelyfine,itisyellow,heavyandodorless.Butitscolorhasnothingtodowithitsgranularity.Itissolubleindilutehydrochloricacid,dilutenitricacid,alkalicyanideandalkaliiodidesolution,slowlysolubleinbromidealkalisolution,almostinsolubleinwater,insolubleinethanol.

Theeffectoflightslowlyturnsdarkblack,whichishighlytoxic.Whenheated,theoxidizedmercurywillturnintoelementalmercurywhenthetemperaturereaches500°C,andreleaseoxygen()whenitdecomposes.Iftheheatingtemperatureislowerthanthedecompositiontemperature,thecolorwillturnblackandreturntotheoriginalcolorwhenitiscold.Itisalmostinsolubleinwaterandethanol,butsolubleinnitricacidandhydrochloricacidtoformhighmercurysalt.

Mercuryoxideisaweakbaseandcanbeusedasanoxidant.Dichlorinemonoxideisobtainedwhenelementalchlorineispassedintonewlypreparedmercuryoxide.Mercuryoxidereactswithhydrogenperoxidetogeneratemercuryperoxide,whichbelongstotheβ-typeorthorhombiccrystalsystem.Sulfurdioxidecanbeoxidizedtosulfurtrioxide,arsenictrioxideisoxidizedtoarsenicpentoxide,andphosphorousacidinwaterisoxidizedtophosphoricacid.

Structure

Theparticlesizesofredmercuryoxideandyellowmercuryoxidearedifferent,andtheparticlesofredmercuryoxidearesmaller.Bothofthesetwovariantsareorthorhombic,withaninfinitechainstructureinthesameplane,eachmercuryatomisalmostlinearlyconnectedtothesurroundingtwooxygenatoms,andatthesametimeitiscoordinatedwiththefouroxygenatomsontheadjacentchain.∠O-Hg-Ois179°,∠Hg-O-Hgis107°.

UseverydiluteK₂HgI₄solutiontoreactwithalkalitoobtainhexagonalcrystalsystemmercuryoxide,thestructureissimilartothatoforthorhombiccrystalsystem,Butthechainsarenotinthesameplane,butentangledinaspiralshape.

Application

Mercuryoxidecanbeusedasanoxidant,organicreactioncatalyst,analyticalreagentandelectrode.

Safetyrisks

Safetymeasures

Leakage:Isolatetheleakedcontaminatedareaandrestrictaccess.Itisrecommendedthatemergencypersonnelwearself-containedbreathingapparatusandchemicalprotectiveclothing.Donotdirectlytouchtheleakage.Asmallamountofleakage:avoiddust,useacleanshoveltocollectinadry,clean,coveredcontainer.Alargeamountofleakage:collectandrecycleortransporttowastedisposalsitesfordisposal.

Emergencytreatment

Inhalation:Leavethescenequicklytofreshair.keepwarm.Keeptheairwayunobstructed.Ifbreathingisdifficult,giveoxygen.Ifbreathingstops,giveartificialrespirationimmediately.Seekmedicalattention.

Ingestion:Thepersonwhoaccidentallyswallowsthemouthrinsewithwateranddrinkmilkoreggwhite.Seekmedicalattention.

Skincontact:Takeoffcontaminatedclothingandrinsetheskinthoroughlywithwater.

Eyecontact:Lifttheeyelidimmediatelyandrinsewithrunningwaterornormalsaline.Seekmedicalattention.

Safetyterms

S13:Keepawayfromfood,beveragesandanimalfeed.

S28:Afteraccidentallycontactingtheskin,rinseimmediatelywithplentyofsoapandwater.

S45:Intheeventofanaccidentorifyoufeelunwell,seekmedicalattentionimmediately(showthelabelifpossible).

S60:Thissubstanceanditscontainermustbedisposedofashazardouswaste.

S61:Avoidreleasetotheenvironment.Refertospecialinstructions/safetydatasheet.

Riskterms

R33:Dangerousgoodswithcumulativeeffects.

R26/27/28:Verytoxicbyinhalation,skincontactandswallowing.

R50/53:Verytoxictoaquaticorganismsandmaycauselong-termadverseeffectsontheaquaticenvironment.

Ecologicalinformation

Itisextremelyharmfultowater.Donotdischargethematerialsintothesurroundingenvironmentwithoutgovernmentpermission.

Storage

Storedinasealedanddarkplace;thewarehouseisventilated,lowtemperatureanddry;storedandtransportedseparatelyfromreducingagents,acids,andfood.