Syntheses, Characterization, and Crystal Structures of a Dinuclear Complex and Coordination Polymer of Mercury(II) with Schiff Base Ligands containing N3 and N4 Donors

Two dinuclear mercury(II) iodide compounds, [Hg-2(L)(I)(4)] (1) and [(L)Hg(-I)(2)HgI2](n) (2) [L = N,N-bis(phenyl(pyridin-2-yl)methylene)propane-1,2-diamine and L = N-(phenyl(pyridin-2-yl)methylene)propane-1,2-diamine] were synthesized and characterized. The molecular structures of [Hg-2(L)(I)(4)] (1) and [(L)Hg(-I)(2)HgI2](n) (2), which were determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction, indicate that each Hg-II in 1 has a distorted tetrahedral environment around the metal atom with a HgN2I2 chromophore, whereas in 2 one mercury(II) atom adopts a distorted tetrahedral arrangement with a HgI4 chromophore and the other has a distorted square pyramidal environment with HgN3I2 chromophore. In the solid state, compound 2 consists of a 1D coordination polymer structure.