Chemical Properties

Thimerosal is approximately 50% mercury by weight, and has been one of the most widely used preservatives in vaccines and, occasionally, tattoo inks. It is mostly comprised of ethylmercury(C2H5Hg+). Ethylmercury (sometimes ethyl mercury) is a cation that forms organomercury compounds. Ethylmercury is a toxic and bioaccumulative organic compound and is the preservative component in thimerosal. Thimerosal (C9H9HgNaO2S) is made from the combination of ethyl mercuric chloride, thiosalicylic acid, sodium hydroxide and ethanol.



Here are some statistical chemical properties of Thimerosal.

Systematic name ethyl-2-mercaptobenzoato(2-)-O,S--mercurate sodium
Trivial names
  • Mercurothiolate
  • Thimerosalate
  • Merfamin
  • Merzonin
    • Molecular formula C9H9HgNaO2S
    Molar mass 404.81 g/mol
    Physical State Solid
    Appearance White or slightly yellow powder
    Properties
    Density and phase 500 kg/m3
    Solubility in water 1000 g/l (20°C)
    Melting point 232 - 233 °C (decomposition)
    Boiling point ---
    pH (pKa) approximately 6.7


    As you can see, there are still some chemical traits of this compound that are unknown.
    Other facts about thimerosal are that its rate of oxidation in solution is greatly increased by traces of copper ions. Also, it has seen to be stable in air, but tends to become unstable in sunlight.
    Thimerosal reacts with very strong oxidizing agents

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    (c) Bhavya Kashyap, 2006