Mercuric iodide red possesses the ability to detect high energy radiation (X- and γ-rays) and is used in nuclear radiation detectors.Mercury(II) iodide red (HgI2) is formed during iodometric analysis.
Mercury(II) iodide is a chemical compound with the molecular formula HgI2. It is typically produced synthetically but can also be found in nature as the extremely rare mineral coccinite. Unlike the related mercury(II) chloride it is hardly soluble in water.