Analysis
A variety of different items have been chemically analyzed as putative samples of "red mercury" since the substance first came to the attention of the media, but no single substance was found in these items. A sample of radioactive material was seized by German police in May 1994. This consisted of a complex mixture of elements, including about 10% by weight plutonium, with the remainder consisting of 61% mercury, 11% antimony, 6% oxygen, 2% iodine and 1.6% gallium. A formula reported for the powder component of the mixture was Hg6Sb2O8 (mercury(II) cyclopyrorthoantimonate), with some of the mercury present in its pure metallic form. The reason why somebody had assembled this complex mixture of chemicals is unknown; equally puzzling was the presence of fragments of glass and brush bristles, suggesting that someone had dropped a bottle of this substance and then swept it up into a new container.
In contrast, an analysis reported in 1998 of a different "red mercury" sample concluded that this sample was a non-radioactive mixture of elemental mercury, water and mercury iodide, which is a red colored chemical. Similarly, another analysis of a sample recovered in Zagreb in November 2003 reported that this item contained only mercury. One formula that had been claimed previously for red mercury was Hg2Sb2O7 (mercury(II) pyroantimonate), but no antimony was detected in this 2003 sample.
Reports including quotes from alleged Russian scientists also presented the chemical formula Hg2Sb2O5, which was claimed to represent mercury(II) pyroantimonite, said to occur in the form of solid salt crystals but also as a heavy liquid. Whether this is a pure form or a solution is not clear. Certain modern-day alchemists claim that they have made this substance.
Read more about this topic: Red Mercury
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