Periodic Table of Elements

80

Mercury

200.59

Mercury was found in Egyptian tombs that date from 1500 BC. The liquid element mercury was isolated by the ancient Chinese and the Egyptians, probably from the mineral cinnabar (mercuric sulfide).

Name: Mercury
Symbol: Hg
Atomic number: 80
Atomic weight: 200.59
State: liquid
Group, period, block: 12, 6, d
Color: silvery
Classification: transition metal
Electron configuration: 4f14 5d10 6s2
2,8,18,32,18,2

Physical properties

Density: 13.534 g/cm-3
Melting point: 234.32 K,-38.83 °C,-37.89 °F
Boiling point: 629.88 K,356.73 °C,674.11 °F

Atomic properties

Oxidation states: 4, 2 (mercuric), 1 (mercurous)
Electronegativity: 2.00 (Pauling scale)
Ionization energies: 1st: 1007.1 kJ·mol-1
Covalent radius: 132±5 pm
Van der Waals radius: 155 pm
  • Hg
  • Electron Configuration

Isotopes

There are seven naturally occurring isotopes of mercury exist, 196Hg, 198Hg, 199Hg, 200Hg, 201Hg, 202Hg, and 204Hg.