Composition and properties of thallium mercury iodide

Conflicting reports exist in the literature concerning the composition of thallium mercury iodide. Solid state synthesis with HgI 2 and TlI has been reported to give Tl 4HgI 6 while synthesis from solution has been reported to give Tl 2HgI 4. In this report we show that the “orange compound” precipitating from solution is actually a 1:1 mole ratio mixture of Tl 4HgI 6 and HgI 2. Pure Tl 4HgI 6, which is yellow, can be produced by heating the mixture at 100°C for several days to volatilize HgI 2 or more simply, by adding Tl(I) to a solution containing 2:1 KI:K 2HgI 4 to provide the additional iodide ions needed for Tl 4HgI 6. Tl 4HgI 6, unlike Ag 2HgI 4 and Cu 2HgI 4, has no sharp thermochromic changes and has no measurable ionic conductivity. This provides another example of the significant role the metal ion plans in determining structure and properties of metal mercury iodide compounds.