Periodic Table/Mercury
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80Hg200.5920 Da

Mercury

Transition Metal·Period 6, Group 12·s-block

Heavy silvery liquid metallic element, belongs to the zinc group. Used in thermometers, barometers and other scientific apparatus. Less reactive than zinc and cadmium, does not displace hydrogen from acids. Forms a number of complexes and organomercury compounds.

Gallery

6 grams pure mercury. Diameter of the inner disc: 2 cm

Hi-Res Images of Chemical Elements, CC BY 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons, source: https://images-of-elements.com/mercury.php

Bohr model of Mercury

Physical Propertiesmass · density · phase · crystal

Atomic Mass

200.5920Da

Density

13.5336g/cm³

Phase (STP)

Liquid

Melting Point

234.3K

Boiling Point

629.8K

Molar Heat

0.1400J/(mol·K)

Crystal Structure

RHL

Lattice Constant

2.990Å

Atomic Radiiatomic · covalent · van der Waals

Atomic (Empirical)

150.00pm

Covalent

133.00pm

Van der Waals

223.00pm

Electronic Propertieselectronegativity · ionization · affinity

Electron Configuration

[Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2

Electron Shells

2, 8, 18, 32, 18, 2

Electronegativity

1.90Pauling

Electron Affinity

—

1st Ionization Energy

10.4kJ/mol

Oxidation States

+1, +2

Orbital DiagramAufbau · Hund's rule · Pauli exclusion

↑↓
1s2
↑↓
2s2
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
2p6
↑↓
3s2
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
3p6
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
3d10
↑↓
4s2
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
4p6
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
4d10
↑↓
5s2
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
5p6
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
4f14
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
↑↓
5d10
↑↓
6s2

Full: 1s2 2s2 2p6 3s2 3p6 3d10 4s2 4p6 4d10 5s2 5p6 4f14 5d10 6s2Short: [Xe] 4f14 5d10 6s2

Ionization Energies (80 known)

1st10.4 kJ/mol2nd18.8 kJ/mol3rd34.5 kJ/mol4th48.5 kJ/mol5th61.2 kJ/mol6th76.6 kJ/mol7th93.0 kJ/mol8th113.9 kJ/mol9th134.0 kJ/mol10th153.0 kJ/mol11th173.0 kJ/mol12th192.7 kJ/mol13th276.9 kJ/mol14th307.0 kJ/mol15th332.0 kJ/mol16th357.0 kJ/mol17th402.0 kJ/mol18th429.0 kJ/mol19th477.0 kJ/mol20th530.0 kJ/mol21th560.0 kJ/mol22th590.0 kJ/mol23th650.0 kJ/mol24th710.0 kJ/mol25th760.0 kJ/mol26th820.0 kJ/mol27th880.0 kJ/mol28th930.0 kJ/mol29th990.0 kJ/mol30th1050.0 kJ/mol31th1110.0 kJ/mol32th1160.0 kJ/mol33th1220.0 kJ/mol34th1280.0 kJ/mol35th1549.0 kJ/mol36th1603.0 kJ/mol37th1661.0 kJ/mol38th1723.0 kJ/mol39th1780.0 kJ/mol40th1839.0 kJ/mol41th1928.0 kJ/mol42th1989.0 kJ/mol43th2052.0 kJ/mol44th2113.0 kJ/mol45th2354.0 kJ/mol46th2412.0 kJ/mol47th2478.0 kJ/mol48th2539.0 kJ/mol49th2745.0 kJ/mol50th2815.0 kJ/mol51th2981.0 kJ/mol52th3049.9 kJ/mol53th5055.0 kJ/mol54th5191.0 kJ/mol55th5335.0 kJ/mol56th5490.0 kJ/mol57th5636.0 kJ/mol58th5780.0 kJ/mol59th6041.0 kJ/mol60th6192.0 kJ/mol61th6356.0 kJ/mol62th6508.0 kJ/mol63th6933.0 kJ/mol64th7066.0 kJ/mol65th7211.0 kJ/mol66th7350.0 kJ/mol67th8010.0 kJ/mol68th8160.0 kJ/mol69th8470.0 kJ/mol70th8620.0 kJ/mol71th18550.0 kJ/mol72th18910.0 kJ/mol73th19310.0 kJ/mol74th19680.0 kJ/mol75th22120.0 kJ/mol76th22580.0 kJ/mol77th23170.0 kJ/mol78th23544.1 kJ/mol79th94124.7 kJ/mol80th95898.2 kJ/molSuccessive Ionization Energies

Emission Spectrumvisible range · characteristic spectral lines

436
546
405
577
579
492
Hg emission
380nm750nm
435.8 nm(100%)546.1 nm(80%)404.7 nm(60%)577.0 nm(40%)579.1 nm(35%)491.6 nm(15%)

Abundanceby mass

🌍Earth's Crust
85.0 ppb
🌊Ocean
30.0 ppt
✨Universe
1.0 ppb
🧬Human Body—

Log scale · ppm = parts per million by mass

Biological Role

Toxic

Highly toxic, especially as methylmercury. Bioaccumulates in food chains. Damages nervous system.

Discovery

Discovered By

Known to the ancients.

Named By

—

Year

—

Nuclear Data

Known Isotopes

47

Stable Isotopes

7

Stable Mass Numbers

196, 198, 199, 200, 201, 202, 204

Natural isotopic abundance (IUPAC recommended values)

Isotopes of Hg47 known

NuclideZNMass (AMU)Half-lifeDecayJπAbundance
170Hg8090170.005814310 μsα (1%)0+—
171Hg8091171.00358570.0 μsα (1%), β⁺3/2-—
172Hg8092171.998861231 μsα (1%), β⁺0+—
196Hgstable80116195.965833Stable2β⁺0+15.0000%
198Hgstable80118197.966769Stablestable (1%)0+1004.0000%
199Hgstable80119198.968281Stablestable (1%)1/2-1694.0000%
200Hgstable80120199.968327Stablestable (1%)0+2314.0000%
201Hgstable80121200.970303Stablestable (1%)3/2-1317.0000%
202Hgstable80122201.970644Stablestable (1%)0+2974.0000%
204Hgstable80124203.973494Stable2β⁻0+682.0000%
214Hg80134214.012636Unknownβ⁻, β⁻n0+—
215Hg80135215.018368Unknownβ⁻, β⁻n9/2+—
216Hg80136216.022459Unknownβ⁻, β⁻n0+—

Click any isotope for its full page with decay chain:

170Hg171Hg172Hg173Hg174Hg175Hg176Hg177Hg178Hg179Hg180Hg181Hg182Hg183Hg184Hg185Hg186Hg187Hg188Hg189Hg190Hg191Hg192Hg193Hg194Hg195Hg196Hg197Hg198Hg199Hg200Hg201Hg202Hg203Hg204Hg205Hg206Hg207Hg208Hg209Hg210Hg211Hg212Hg213Hg214Hg215Hg216Hg
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