Metallic mercury has always attracted much attention in various fields because of its unique characteristic of forming amalgams. In our previous studies, for the first time we have attempted to synthesize mercury alloy microspheres or nanospheres with different crystalline phases using a one-step sonochemical synthetic process. [1] The obtained Hg–Ag amalgams from various compositions after sonication are physically characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), SEM, Energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) and differential scanning calorimetry (DSC). The XRD of the amalgams obtained from the molar ratios of Hg:Ag (1:1.5) and Hg:Ag (1.5:1 and 2:1) match the Schachnerite and Moschellandbergite phases, respectively. The as-formed amalgam microspheres showed enhanced electroanalytical activity for sensitive detection of Ascorbic acid (AA). The detection of AA was carried out using cyclic voltammetric technique and showed a detection limit of 0.78x10-6 mol L-1 which is showing better sensitivity than other reported solid silver amalgam (12x10-6 mol L-1). [2] The results will be discussed at the time of poster presentation.
References: 1). K. Harika, V. B. Kumar, A. Gedanken, Ultrason Sonochem. 2018, 40, 157-165.
2). Josypcˇuk, J. Barek, B. Josypcˇuk, Electroanalysis 2014, 26, 1729 – 1738.