Metal carbonyl 18-electron complexes is sometimes catalysed by catalytic amounts of oxidants, via electron-transfer. Metal carbonyls react with reducing agents such as metallic sodium or sodium amalgam to give carbonylmetalate (or carbonylate) anions: For iron pentacarbonyl, one obtains the tetracarbonylferrate with loss of CO: Mercury can insert into the metal-metal bonds of some polynuclear metal carbonyls: The CO ligand is often susceptible to attack by nucleophiles. For example, trimethylamine oxide and bistrimethylsilylamide convert CO ligands to CO and CN, respectively. In the "Hieber base reaction", hydroxide ion attacks the CO ligand to give a metallacarboxylic acid, followed by the release of carbon
Mercury beating heart Mercury beating heart The mercury beating heart is an electrochemical redox reaction between the elements mercury, iron and chromium. The reaction causes a blob of mercury in water to oscillate. The observeable reaction demonstrates an effect of a non-homogeneous electrical double layer. It is often used as a classroom demonstration. In the experiment a droplet of mercury is placed in a watch glass, immersed in an electrolyte such as sulfuric acid which contains an oxidizing agent such as hydrogen peroxide, potassium permanganate, or potassium dichromate. The tip of an iron nail is positioned almost touching the mercury. If the position