The Solvation of Mercury Ions and the Formation of Their Complexes in Water and Non-aqueous Solvents

The characteristic features of the formation of mercury complexes in water and non-aqueous solvents are examined. A relation is established between the stability of the complexes and mercury solvates, on the one hand, and the properties of the solvents, on the other. pHg²⁺ mercury complex stability scales have been constructed on the basis of the concept of ionic activities and the possibility of predicting the activities of complex species, the disproportionation constants, and the solubility products of sparingly soluble mercury salts in non-aqueous media has been demonstrated. Correlations for a series of mercury complexes and solvato-complexes and the prospects for the employment of the quantitative characteristics of solvation in the chemistry of mercury complexes are discussed.
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