Difference Between Ethylmercury and Methylmercury

The key difference between ethylmercury and methylmercury is that ethylmercury has an ethyl group along with mercury whereas methyl mercury has a methyl group along with mercury. The chemical formula of ethylmercury is C₂H₅Hg⁺ and the chemical formula of methylmercury is CH₃Hg⁺.

Both ethylmercury and methylmercury are organometallic cations. That means; both these compounds have a positive charge along with a metal and an organic group.

1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Ethylmercury
3. What is Methylmercury
4. Side by Side Comparison – Ethylmercury vs Methylmercury in Tabular Form
6. Summary

What is Ethylmercury?

Ethylmercury is an organometallic cation having the chemical formula C₂H₅Hg⁺. Here, an ethyl group is attached with a mercury(II) center. It is a metabolite that we use commonly as a preservative in some vaccines.

The bond between the carbon in ethyl group and mercury atom is a covalent bond. It is because of the comparatively slight difference between the electronegativity values of carbon and mercury. Moreover, scientists have found that the bond angle is linear between carbon and mercury.

Difference Between Ethylmercury and Methylmercury

Figure 1: Structure of Ethylmercury

The studies on ethylmercury toxicity are still ongoing. Therefore, we use the toxicity data of methylmercury to predict the toxicity of this compound. Ethylmercury can be distributed to all body tissues, even crossing the blood-brain barrier. Furthermore, this compound moves freely through the body.

What is Methylmercury?

Methylmercury is an organometallic cation having the chemical formula CH₃Hg⁺. There, a methyl group is attached to mercury(II). For all humans, this compound is the major source of organic mercury. However, this is bio-accumulative and is also an environmental toxicant.

Key Difference - Ethylmercury vs Methylmercury

Figure 2: Structure of Methylmercury

Since this ion has a positive charge, it gets readily attached to anions such as chloride ion. Moreover, this has a high affinity for sulfur-containing anions as well. When considering the formation of this compound, it forms as a result of microbial activity on inorganic mercury. Microbes that live in lakes, rivers, wetlands, soils, etc. can do this. However, some other natural sources such as volcanoes, forest fires, etc. can also produce this.

Methylmercury is highly toxic and if we ingest it, this compound is readily absorbed by the gastrointestinal tract. It can form complexes with cysteine and protein in amino acids. Above all, this compound is highly toxic and it is more toxic than ethylmercury as well.

What is the Difference Between Ethylmercury and Methylmercury?

Ethylmercury is an organometallic cation having the chemical formula C₂H₅Hg⁺. Methylmercury is an organometallic cation having the chemical formula CH₃Hg⁺. Therefore, the key difference between ethylmercury and methylmercury is that ethyl mercury has an ethyl group along with mercury whereas methyl mercury has a methyl group along with mercury.

Moreover, methylmercury is highly toxic in comparison to ethylmercury. Also, as another significant difference between ethylmercury and methylmercury, we can say that ethylmercury is not bio-accumulative but methylmercury is highly bio-accumulative.

The following table summarizes the difference between ethylmercury and methylmercury.

Summary – Ethylmercury vs Methylmercury

Ethylmercury and methylmercury are organometallic cations. The key difference between ethylmercury and methylmercury is that ethyl mercury has an ethyl group along with mercury whereas methyl mercury has a methyl group along with mercury. Moreover, methylmercury is highly toxic in comparison to ethylmercury.

Reference:

1. “Ethylmercury.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 5 Mar. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ethylmercury.
2. “Methylmercury.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 6 Feb. 2019, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methylmercury.