Structure of thallium amalgams and their reaction with oxygen

Abstract

The stoichiometry was determined for the oxide formed by bubbling oxygen through thallium amalgam until the wt.% thallium in the amalgam was reduced by about 2%. The composition of the oxide depended upon the wt.% Tl in the amalgam. In the most dilute amalgams the oxide approached the formula Tl2O and as the wt.% Tl increased the oxide became richer in thallium(III). Between 20 and 29 wt.% Tl the oxide approximated Tl3O2 and for alloys richer in thallium the oxide became richer in thallium(III). When the wt.% Tl in the alloy was 41.0 the ratio of thallium to oxygen in the oxide was 1.19. It is suggested that the experimental results indicate the existence of shortrange order in the liquid.