Period 6 element also dissolves in alkaline solutions of cyanide, which have been used in mining. Gold dissolves in mercury, forming amalgam alloys. Gold is insoluble in nitric acid, which dissolves silver and base metals, a property that has long been used to confirm the presence of gold in items, giving rise to the term "the acid test." Gold has been a valuable and highly sought-after precious metal for coinage, jewelry, and other arts since long before the beginning of recorded history. Gold standards have been a common basis for monetary policies throughout human history, later being supplanted by fiat currency starting in
Trifluoroacetic acid causes severe skin burns and is toxic for aquatic organisms even at low concentrations. TFA's reaction with bases and metals, especially light metals, is strongly exothermic. The reaction with lithium aluminium hydride (LAH) results in an explosion. TFA is not biodegradable and is somewhat toxic to aquatic life - although it does not bioaccumulate, prevention of release into waterways is of extreme importance when using TFA Trifluoroacetic acid Trifluoroacetic acid (TFA) is an organofluorine compound with the chemical formula CFCOH. It is a structural analogue of acetic acid with all three of the acetyl group’s hydrogen atoms replaced by fluorine