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Does mercury amalgamate with Brass & Steel ?
Details: I am designing a micro pump to dispense mercury in micro quantities ($\mathrm{300-700}\ \pu{mg}$). I am planning to use 2 check valves with syringe to suck mercury from a mercury reservoir and push it for dispensing. The problem is that all the high quality check valves are mostly Brass & I am not sure if mercury amalgamates with it.
Brass contains zinc and copper. Both of those materials will readily amalgamate with mercury and thus it is not recommended to allow brass to contact mercury.
Steel will not form an amalgam and is perfectly fine for use with mercury. In fact is Approved as a container for mercury in transport.
