Mercury (element)

Compounds

The most important salts are:

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• Mercury(I) chloride (AKA calomel and is sometimes still used in medicine)
• Mercury(II) chloride (which is very corrosive, sublimates and is a violent poison)
• Mercury fulminate, (a detonator widely used in explosives),
• Mercury(II) sulfide (AKA cinnabar mercuric ore still used in oriental medicine, or vermilion which is a high-grade paint pigment),
• Mercury(II) selenide a semi-metal,
• Mercury(II) telluride a semi-metal, and
• Mercury cadmium telluride an infrared detector material.

Laboratory tests have found that an electrical discharge causes the noble gases to combine with mercury vapor. These compounds are held together with van der Waals forces and result in HgNe, HgAr, HgKr, and HgXe. Organic mercury compounds are also important. Methylmercury is a dangerous compound that is widely found as a pollutant in water bodies and streams.

Related Topics:
Noble gases - Van der Waals force - Compound - Methylmercury - Pollutant

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