Reactivity studies with sodium amalgams

In the course of systematic studies covering various aspects of the reactivity of alkali metal amalgams we report here about first results on the behaviour of selected sodium amalgams in liquid ammonia. Starting from the most alkali metal rich amalgam Na 3Hg one can show that a stepwise extraction o...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Solid state ionics 1997-11, Vol.101, p.1305-1308
Main Authors: Deiseroth, H.J., Biehl, E., Noglik, H.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alkali metal amalgams
Liquid ammonia
Reactivity
Solubility
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Summary:In the course of systematic studies covering various aspects of the reactivity of alkali metal amalgams we report here about first results on the behaviour of selected sodium amalgams in liquid ammonia. Starting from the most alkali metal rich amalgam Na 3Hg one can show that a stepwise extraction of sodium via Na 3Hg 2 and NaHg takes place resulting in the final formation of insoluble NaHg 2. We discuss how the stepwise extraction of sodium can be correlated to the degree of ‘condensation’ of mercury atoms to Hg n clusters in the sense of a topochemical reaction. Starting from pure Na 3Hg (isolated Hg atoms in a matrix of Na atoms) the successive formation of Na 3Hg 2 (isolated square Hg 4 clusters in a matrix of Na atoms), NaHg (one-dimensional zigzag chains of condensed Hg 4 rectangles in a matrix of Na atoms) and NaHg 2 (extended three-dimensional connection of Hg 4 rectangles) can be traced by X-ray powder methods. NaHg 2 and NaHg 4 are insoluble in liquid NH 3.
ISSN:0167-2738
1872-7689
DOI:10.1016/S0167-2738(97)00239-7