Mercury(I)_nitrate
Mercury(I) nitrate
Chemical compound
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.[2]
| Names | |
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| IUPAC name
Mercury(I) nitrate | |
| Other names
Mercurous nitrate | |
| Identifiers | |
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3D model (JSmol) |
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| ECHA InfoCard | 100.202.814  |
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CompTox Dashboard (EPA) |
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| Properties | |
| Hg2(NO3)2 (anhydrous) Hg2(NO3)2·2H2O (dihydrate) | |
| Molar mass | 525.19 g/mol (anhydrous) 561.22 g/mol (dihydrate) |
| Appearance | white 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 | |
| NFPA 704 (fire diamond) | |
| 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 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:[3]
- Hg2(NO3)2 ⇌ Hg + Hg(NO3)2
These reactions are reversible; the nitric acid formed can redissolve the basic salt.[citation needed]
- Lide, David R. (1998), Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (87 ed.), Boca Raton, Florida: CRC Press, pp. 4–45, ISBN 0-8493-0594-2
- D. Grdenić (1956). "The crystal Structure of Mercurous Nitrate Dihydrate". Journal of the Chemical Society: 1312–1316. doi:10.1039/jr9560001312.
- Patnaik, Pradyot (2003), Handbook of Inorganic Chemical Compounds, McGraw-Hill Professional, p. 573, ISBN 0-07-049439-8, retrieved 2009-07-20
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