Mercury

Chemical, physical and material properties and data of the chemical element Mercury.

Contents

General Information about Mercury

Regular nameMercuryChemical symbolHgOther namesHistorical namesName meaning, originDiscovery (year)OccurencePosition in the PSEGroup membership

Atomar Properties of Mercury

Atomic number Z80 = number of protonsStandard Atomic Weight200.592 (3)

Electron configuration of Mercury

1s	2s	2p	3s	3p	3d	4s	4p	4d	4f	5s	5p	5d	5f	6s	6p	6d	6f	7s	7p
2	2	6	2	6	10	2	6	10	14	2	6	10		2

Shorthand electron configuration of Mercury: [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s².

Ionization Energies of Mercury

The following table lists the ionization energies IE (ionization potentials); the IE is the energy required in electron volt (eV) per atom to separate a given electron from an Mercury atom.

IE1	IE2	IE3
10.4375	18.7568	34.2

Isotopic Data of Mercury

An overview of the nuclides as well as the isotopic data and properties are listed on the following page: Mercury isotopes.

Chemistry of Mercury

Oxidation states+ 2. +1Electronegativity1.9 (Pauling original)
2.00 (Pauling)
1.76 (Allen)
1.92 (Sanderson)
1.44 (Allred-Rochow)
4.91 eV (Pearson)Electron affinity-0.5(2) eV
-48(20) kJ mol^-1

Standard Electrode Potential

E⁰ (V)	Symbol	N_ox	Name Ox. Name Red.	Ox. Red.	e^-
0.0977	Hg	+ II 0	Mercury(II) oxide Mercury	HgO (s) + H₂O (aq) ⇄ Hg (l) + 2 OH^-	+ 2 e^-
0.6125	Hg	+ I 0	Mercury(I) sulfate Mercury	Hg₂SO₄ ⇄ 2 Hg + SO₄^2-	+ 2 e^-
0.7973	Hg	+ I 0	Mercury(I) cation Mercury	Hg₂²⁺ ⇄ 2 Hg (l)	+ 2 e^-
0.851	Hg	+ II 0	Mercury(II) cation Mercury	Hg²⁺ ⇄ 2 Hg (l)	+ 2 e^-
0.920	Hg	+ II + I	Mercury(II) cation Mercury(I) cation	2 Hg²⁺ ⇄ Hg₂²⁺	+ 2 e^-

Material and Physical Properties

Melting point- 38.8290 °CEnthalpy of fusion (molar)2.29 kJ mol^-1Boiling point356.619 °CEnthalpy of vaporization59.15 kJ mol^-1Density13.534 g cm^-3 (20°C)

External Data, Identifiers

CAS registry number7439-97-6InChI =1S/HgInChIKeyQSHDDOUJBYECFT-UHFFFAOYSA-NPubChem ID23931

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Last update: 2022-12-12

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