Stuck in Our Teeth? Crystal Structure of a New Copper Amalgam, Cu3Hg

We have synthesized a new Cu amalgam, the Cu-rich phase Cu 3 Hg. It crystallizes with the Ni 3 Sn structure type with a hexagonal unit cell (space group P6 3 /mmc, a = 5.408(4) Å, c = 4.390(3) Å) and shows some mixed occupancy of Cu on the Hg site, resulting in a refined composition of Cu 3.11 Hg 0.89. This is the first example of an amalgam with the Ni 3 Sn structure type where Hg is located mainly on the Sn site. Cu 3 Hg might be one of the phases constituting dental amalgams and therefore has major relevance, as well as the only Cu amalgam phase described so far, Cu 7 Hg 6 with the γ -brass structure. It occurs as a biphase in our samples. Thermal decomposition of Cu amalgam samples in a dynamic vacuum yields nanostructured copper networks, possibly suitable for catalytic applications.

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