Mercury(I) oxide, also known as mercurous oxide, is an inorganic metal oxide with the chemical formula Hg2O.

Mercury(I) oxide
Identifiers
3D model (JSmol)
ChemSpider
ECHA InfoCard 100.036.289 Edit this at Wikidata
EC Number
  • 239-934-0
UNII
UN number 1641
  • InChI=1S/2Hg.O checkY
    Key: RPZHFKHTXCZXQV-UHFFFAOYSA-N checkY[1]
  • O([Hg])[Hg]
  • [O-2].[Hg+].[Hg+]
Properties
Hg2O
Molar mass 417.183 g·mol−1
Appearance Very dark, orange, opaque crystals
Odor Odourless
Density 9.8 g mL−1
−76.3·10−6 cm3/mol
Hazards
Occupational safety and health (OHS/OSH):
Main hazards
highly toxic
GHS labelling:[3]
GHS07: Exclamation markGHS08: Health hazard
Danger
H315, H317, H320, H335, H341, H361, H370, H372
P201, P202, P260, P261, P264, P270, P271, P272, P280, P281, P302+P352, P304+P340, P305+P351+P338, P307+P311, P308+P313, P312, P314, P321, P332+P313, P333+P313, P337+P313, P362, P363, P403+P233, P405, P501
NFPA 704 (fire diamond)
NFPA 704 four-colored diamondHealth 4: Very short exposure could cause death or major residual injury. E.g. VX gasFlammability 0: Will not burn. E.g. waterInstability 1: Normally stable, but can become unstable at elevated temperatures and pressures. E.g. calciumSpecial hazards (white): no code
4
0
1
Lethal dose or concentration (LD, LC):
18 mg/kg (oral, rat)[2]
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
☒N verify (what is checkY☒N ?)

It is a brown/black powder, insoluble in water but soluble in nitric acid. With hydrochloric acid, it reacts to form calomel, Hg2Cl2.[4] Mercury(I) oxide is toxic but without taste or smell. It is chemically unstable and converts to mercury(II) oxide and mercury metal.

References

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  1. ^ a b Chambers, Michael. "ChemIDplus - 15829-53-5 - RPZHFKHTXCZXQV-UHFFFAOYSA-N - Mercurous oxide - Similar structures search, synonyms, formulas, resource links, and other chemical information". Chem.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 2 April 2019.
  2. ^ "Mercuric oxide MSDS". sciencelab.com. Archived from the original on 2012-10-11.
  3. ^ "Mercury(I) oxide". pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov. Retrieved 23 December 2021.
  4. ^ Perry, Dale L. (2011). Handbook of Inorganic Compounds (2nd ed.). Boca Raton: Taylor & Francis. p. 270. ISBN 978-1-4398-1461-1. OCLC 587104373.