JOURNAL 



OF THE 



ASIATIC SOCIETY OF BENGAL. 



Vol. LXV. Part II.— NATURAL SCIENCE. 

 No. I. — 1896. 



On Mercuroris Nitrite, — By P. C. R1y, D. Sc. 



(Read December, 1895.) 



Preliminary. 



Having recently had occasion to prepare mercurous nitrate in 

 quantity by the action of dilute nitric acid in the cold on mercury, I 

 was rather struck by the appearance of a yellow crystalline deposit. At 

 first sight it was taken to be a basic salt, but the formation of such a 

 salt in a strongly acid solution was contrary to ordinary experience. 

 A preliminary test proved it, however, to be at once a mercurous salt 

 as well as a nitrite. The interesting compound promised thus amply to 

 repay an investigation. 



Historical. 

 Lefort, Grerhardt and Marignac, especially the last, have studied 

 and described in detail the action of nitric acid on mei'cury under 

 varying circumstances. We have to labour here under the serious dis- 

 advantage of not having access to the original memoirs of these French 

 chemists. Fortunately, a complete resume of Marignac's work is to he 

 found in Fremy's JEncyclopedie Ghimique. The information as regards 

 mercurous nitrite, however, is scarcely worth anything.* Roscoe and 



* The words which have a direct bearing on. the present subject are quoted 

 here: "L'azotite mercurenx se forme .. en meme temps que l'azotate mercurique, 

 d'apres Lefort, chaque fois que Ton attaque du mercure par de l'acide nitrique. 

 D'autre part, Gerhardfc n'admet pas 1'existence de l'azotite mercaronx et il consider? 

 les produits obtenus comme de l'azotate mercuroso-mercnrique." Tome III., p 2-tO. 

 J. II. 1 



Ui j 



