Organomercury compounds. Vii. complexes of arylmercuric halides with bidentate ligands

The complexes, C₆F₅HgXL₂ [X = Br or C1; L₂ = 2, 2′-bipyridyl (bipy), 1, 10-phenanthroline (phen), 3, 4, 7, 8-tetramethyl-1, l0-phenanthroline (tmp), or 2, 9-dimethyl-1, 10-phenanthroline (dmp)], C₆Cl₅HgClL₂ (L, = phen, tmp, or dmp), and PhHgClL₂ (L₂ = phen or tmp), have been prepared, but attempts to prepare PhHgCl bipy or complexes of phenylmercuric bromide were unsuccessful. Evidence that the complexes contain four coordinate mercury has been obtained from infrared spectroscopy. All complexes, except C₆Cl₅HgCl phen, C₆Cl₅HgCl dmp, and PhHgCl tmp, undergo complete or partial disproportionation reactions, 2RHgXL₂ → L₂HgX₂ +R₂HgL₂ (or R₂Hg + L₂), in boiling benzene. Although disproportionation or low solubility precludes solution studies on the majority of the derivatives, it has been shown that C₆F₅HgX dmp complexes are monomeric in acetone and that PhHgCl phen undergoes dissociation, PhHgCl phen → PhHgCl + phen, in this solvent.