Mercury acetate produced by metallic mercury subjected to acoustic cavitation in a solution of acetic acid in water

Mercury acetate (MA) can be obtained by metallic mercury immersed in a mixture of deionised, bidistillated water (dbw) and acetic acid. We show that MA crystallization time is drastically reduced if the previous mixtures are subjected to acoustic cavitation. The largest quantity of crystals is obtained by a concentration of acetic acid of about 7% in volume.NMR analysis of identical mixtures in the presence of mercury, performed as soon as possible after cavitation, showed the largest quantity of mercury acetate molecules, for the same concentration of acetic acid of 7% in volume.