Australia's Science Forum

Hi all,

A Teacher has provided me with an experiment that uses Mercury (II) Chloride to remove the Aluminium Oxide layer on a piece of polished Aluminium foil, now I looked at Riskassess and it says Mercury(II) Chloride <0.004 M (<0.1% wt/wt) is a Teacher only chemical.
They now wish me to find an alternative to using the Mercury (II) Chloride to remove the Aluminium Oxide layer, any ideas would be appreciated.
Thanks

Andrew

Try one part vinegar and one part water. A quick search on the net found that. Let us know if it works. Seriously why can't the teacher look for alternatives. On another note all of our mercury products have been removed as chemical waste and the last of our mercury thermometers are now ready to go with the next chemical disposal. I will probably find some feral thermometer lurking in a dark place somewhere trying to escape detection. It can wait for a future chemical waste disposal.