Trapping metallic liquid mercury in a carbon shell by the decomposition of dimethyl mercury

A simple, efficient ad economical synthesis technique for the fabrication of core shell structures was reported, where the metallic mercury forms the core. The meta/carbon core shell structures of an Hg/C compound is prepared by the thermolysis of an Hg(CH₃)₂. X-ray powder diffraction data were obtained by means of a horizontally mounted, INEL cylindrical position-sensitive detector. External calibration using the Na ₂Ca₃AI₂F₄ cubic phase was applied by means of cubic spline fittings. The peak positions were determined by pseudo-Voight fittings. The liquid samples were sealed in 0.3 mm diameter Lindemann capillaries. which rotated perpendicularly to the X-ray beam during the experiments. It was observed that the Hg/C particles exhibited interesting surface features that can be exploited in catalysis. The adopted method is generally applicable for all alkyl-metal compounds.