Aluminum amalgam

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Aluminum amalgam is an alloy between aluminum and mercury (an " amalgam "). It occurs when aluminum is reacted with mercury.

properties

In contrast to aluminum, no protective oxide layer can form on aluminum amalgam, so that aluminum amalgam is chemically very reactive. This is used to activate aluminum for certain reactions. For this purpose, this is usually not completely, but only superficially transformed into an aluminum amalgam. When exposed to air, aluminum amalgam forms long, white, thread-like aluminum (III) oxide structures. It decomposes on contact with water.

use

Aluminum amalgam is used as a reducing agent. For example, it can be used to convert nitrophenols into aminophenols .

Since airplanes and modern ships are largely made of aluminum, leaking mercury can lead to the formation of aluminum amalgam and cause structural damage, including in the outer shell. That is why the carrying of mercury and mercury salts on aircraft is restricted or prohibited. It is believed that this was occasionally used for sabotage during World War II .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Annual report on the advances in chemical technology and technical chemistry . Otto Wigand, 1859, p. 5 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  2. ↑ Georg Brauer (ed.) U. a .: Handbook of Preparative Inorganic Chemistry. 3rd, revised edition. Volume III, Ferdinand Enke, Stuttgart 1981, ISBN 3-432-87823-0 , p. 2065.
  3. ^ Karl-Heinz Lautenschläger: Pocket book of chemistry . Harri Deutsch Verlag, 2007, ISBN 978-3-8171-1761-1 , pp. 439 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  4. ↑ Satya Prakash: Modern Inorganic Chemistry . S. Chand, 1987, ISBN 81-219-0074-3 , pp. 957 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  5. ^ Friedrich Klages : Textbook of organic chemistry. Vol. 1. Systematic organic chemistry. Half 2. Nitrogen and other non-metal compounds, organometallic compounds, cyclic compounds, etc. a. Walter de Gruyter, 1953, ISBN 3-11-157251-X , p. 538 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. ↑ Hans Adolf Wislicenus , Ludwig Kaufmann: Note on the reactions of amalgamated aluminum . In: Reports of the German Chemical Society . tape 28 , no. 2 , 1895, p. 1983-1986 , doi : 10.1002 / cber.189502802163 .
  7. ↑ Houben-Weyl Methods of Organic Chemistry Vol. II, 2nd Edition: Oxidation, Reduction, Special Topics . Thieme, 2014, ISBN 978-3-13-199202-4 ( limited preview in Google book search).
  8. ^ Christian Vargel: Corrosion of Aluminum . Elsevier, 2004, ISBN 0-08-044495-4 , pp. 158 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  9. ↑ AvStop Online Magazine: Chapter 7. Special Problems
  10. ^ Ulrich Müller Charles E. Mortimer: Chemistry: The basic knowledge of chemistry . Georg Thieme Verlag, 2010, ISBN 3-13-151710-7 , p. 499 ( limited preview in Google Book search).