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 (element) bond to itself, mercury forms mercury polycations, which consist of linear chains of mercury centers, capped with a positive charge. One example is . Mercury(II) is the most common oxidation state and is the main one in nature as well. All four mercuric halides are known. They form tetrahedral complexes with other ligands but the halides adopt linear coordination geometry, somewhat like Ag does. Best known is mercury(II) chloride, an easily sublimating white solid. HgCl forms coordination complexes that are typically tetrahedral, e.g. . Mercury(II) oxide, the main oxide of mercury, arises when the metal is exposed to air for