Abstract
The first information about the application of mercury as an electrode material dates back to the end of the 19th century. At the same time it was noted that mercury is not an indifferent metal and is capable of reacting with a number of ions in solution. Further extensive application of mercury as an electrode material stimulated systematic investigation of its electrochemical properties: electrocapillary phenomena at the mercury–solution interface, equilibrium and steady-state potentials, kinetics and mechanism of the discharge-ionisation process at the equilibrium and steady-state potentials, and reducing and other properties of mercury. These questions are discussed in the present review. The bibliography comprises 65 references.