Mercury(II) nitrate
Mercury nitrate is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula. It is the mercury salt of nitric acid. It contains mercury cations and nitrate anions, and water of crystallization in the case of a hydrous salt. Mercury nitrate forms hydrates. Anhydrous and hydrous salts are colorless or white soluble crystalline solids that are occasionally used as a reagents. Mercury nitrate is made by treating mercury with hot concentrated nitric acid. Neither anhydrous nor monohydrate has been confirmed by X-ray crystallography. The anhydrous material is more widely used.
Uses
Mercury nitrate is used as an oxidizing agent in organic synthesis, as a nitrification agent, as an analytical reagent in laboratories, in the manufacture of felt, and in the manufacture of mercury fulminate.An alternative qualitative Zeisel test can be done with the use of mercury nitrate instead of silver nitrate, leading to the formation of scarlet red mercury(II) iodide.