Mercury silvering Mercury silvering Mercury silvering or fire gilding is a silvering technique for applying a thin layer of precious metal such as silver or gold (mercury gilding) to a base metal object. The process was invented during the Middle Ages and is documented in Vannoccio Biringuccio's 1540 book "De la pirotechnia". An amalgam of mercury and the precious metal is prepared and applied to the object which is then heated, sometimes in oil, vaporizing most of the mercury. The technique is dangerous since mercury is highly toxic, especially in its vapor phase. Mercury silvering can be detected through a variety of
Metal peroxide are generally formulated for peroxide salt. In excess of dilute acids or water they release hydrogen peroxide. Upon heating, the reaction with water leads to the release of oxygen. Upon exposure to air, alkali metal peroxides absorb CO to give peroxycarbonates. Unlike the alkali metal and alkaline earth metal peroxides, binary transition metal peroxides, i.e., compounds containing only metal cations and peroxide anions, are rare. Metal dioxides are pervasive, e.g. MnO and rutile (TiO), but these are oxides, not peroxides. Well characterized examples include the d metal cations, Zinc peroxide (ZnO), two polymorphs, both explosive, of mercury peroxide (HgO), and