Measurement of mercurous chloride vapor pressure

Abstract

The composition of mercurous chloride vapor is not well known despite the studies devoted to it. This paper is a study of calomel vapor pressure based on atomic absorption spectroscopy of mercury in the vapor phase. The results obtained prove that in the vapor phase below 473 K, mercurous chloride is completely dissociated into mercury and mercuric chloride, and resultant vapor pressure measurements correspond closely to those obtained with the Knudsen effusion method.