Mercury silvering methods. The technique was also used in Asia, for example "tokin" plating in Edo-period Japan. 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
Chemical reaction one or more ligands are replaced by another, and redox processes which change the oxidation state of the central metal atom. In the Brønsted–Lowry acid–base theory, an acid-base reaction involves a transfer of protons (H) from one species (the acid) to another (the base). When a proton is removed from an acid, the resulting species is termed that acid's conjugate base. When the proton is accepted by a base, the resulting species is termed that base's conjugate acid. In other words, acids act as proton donors and bases act as proton acceptors according to the following equation: The reverse reaction