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
Mercury(IV) fluoride Mercury(IV) fluoride Mercury(IV) fluoride, HgF, is the first mercury compound to be reported with mercury in the oxidation state IV. Mercury, like the other group 12 elements (cadmium and zinc), has an sd electron configuration and generally only forms bonds involving its 6s orbital. This means that the highest oxidation state mercury normally attains is II, and for this reason it is usually considered a post-transition metal instead of a transition metal. HgF was first reported from experiments in 2007, but its existence remains disputed; experiments conducted in 2008 could not replicate the compound. Speculation about higher oxidation states for