Mercury
transition metal · period 6 · group 12 · d-block
Mercury is a chemical element with the symbol Hg and atomic number 80. It is commonly known as quicksilver and was formerly named hydrargyrum (/haɪˈdrɑːrdʒərəm/ hy-DRAR-jər-əm).
What the numbers say
At standard temperature and pressure Mercury is a liquid, sitting in period 6, group 12 of the d-block.
Its melting point of 234 K (-39 °C) is the 98th highest of the 110 elements with a measured value — mid-range among the elements.
At 13.534 g/cm³ it is the 15th densest of 96 elements with a quoted density.
Pauling electronegativity is 2. Paired with oxygen (3.44) that is a difference of 1.44, which puts the bond polar covalent — oxides here tend to be semiconducting or refractory rather than salt-like.
In the solid state it takes a simple trigonal structure.
It is reported in 3 oxidation states (1, 2, 4), which sets how many distinct compounds and phases it can form.
First identified in c. 2000 BCE.
Crystal structure
Solid Mercury adopts a Simple Trigonal arrangement, in the Trigonal (rhombohedral) system — axes a = b = c (rhombohedral setting), angles α = β = γ ≠ 90°. Symmetry controls the anisotropy of stiffness and thermal expansion, and the available slip systems set how far the metal deforms before it fractures.
Check it against computed structures
The structure search queries the Materials Project, OQMD and the Open Materials Database for computed crystal structures containing Hg — with DFT formation energy, hull stability and band gap where the provider publishes them.
K 2 · L 8 · M 18 · N 32 · O 18 · P 2
Properties
| Atomic number | 80 |
|---|---|
| Atomic mass | 200.5923 u |
| Series | transition metal |
| Group | 12 |
| Period | 6 |
| Block | d-block |
| Phase at STP | Liquid |
| Density | 13.534 g/cm³ |
| Melting point | 234.32 K (-39 °C) |
| Boiling point | 629.88 K (357 °C) |
| Electronegativity (Pauling) | 2 |
| Electron configuration | [Xe] 4f¹⁴ 5d¹⁰ 6s² |
| Crystal structure | Simple Trigonal |
| Oxidation states | 1,2,4 |
| Discovered | c. 2000 BCE |
← Back to the periodic table
See Hg in context with all 118 elements.
Working with mercury in a real design?
Ask the materials chat how Hg behaves in your alloy system, what it does to weldability, and which grades to look at — with the source of every number named.