Vibrational and nuclear magnetic resonance studies of the formation of alkylmercury(II) halide complex anions

Abstract

Vibrational-spectroscopic measurements show the formation of [HgMeCl₂]^– from [HgMe(Cl)] and [NBuⁿ₄] Cl in benzene, chloroform, dichloromethane, tetrahydrofuran, and acetonitrile but not in methanol or water. Similar formation of complex anions occurs for [HgMe(X)](X = Br, I, or SCN) and for [HgR(X)](RX = EtCl, PrⁿCl, BuⁿCl, EtBr, PrⁿBr, BuⁿBr, or Etl). The effects of the addition of halide ions on δ(¹⁹⁹Hg), measured by ¹H-{¹⁹⁹Hg} INDOR, and ²J(HgH) have been investigated and compared with the effects of solvents on these parameters. It is suggested that the complexes have an essentially linear RHgX group with the second halide much more weakly attached in the equatorial plane.