Mercury(II) fulminate
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| mercury (II) oxidoazaniumylidynemethane IUPAC name |
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| Chemical formula | Hg(ONC)2 |
| Molecular mass | 284.624 g/mol |
| Shock sensitivity | High |
| Friction sensitivity | High |
| Density | 4.43 g/cm³ |
| Explosive velocity | 4,250 m/s |
| RE factor | ? |
| Melting point | N/A |
| Autoignition temperature | 150 °C |
| Appearance | Grey crystalline solid |
| CAS number | 628-86-4 |
| PubChem | 12359 |
| SMILES | [C-]#[N+][O-].[C-] #[N+][O-].[Hg+2] |
Mercury fulminate (Hg(ONC)2) is a primary explosive. It is highly sensitive to friction and shock. It is mainly used in blasting caps. It is also known as mercury(II) cyanate.
Today mercury fulminate tends to be replaced by other primary explosives which are less toxic and more stable in time: lead azide, lead styphnate and tetrazene derivatives.
[edit] Preparation
It is prepared by the reaction of mercury with alcohol and concentrated nitric acid under very careful control of the reactional conditions, to avoid explosion.
Silver fulminate can be prepared in a similar way, but this salt is even more unstable than mercury fulminate. It can even explode under water.
