Tetranuclear N‐Heterocyclic Carbene Mercury(II) Complexes Containing Triply Deprotonated Acetonitrile: Synthesis and Structural Studies

Abstract

Abstract In the presence of KO t Bu, bis[ N ‐( n Pr)benzimidazoliumylmethyl]durene bromide ( 1a ) and bis[ N ‐( n Bu)benzimidazoliumylmethyl]durene bromide ( 1b ) were treated with HgBr 2 in CH 3 CN, respectively, to afford two novel tetranuclear NHC–mercury(II) complexes, [durene(CH 2 bimy n Pr) 2 Hg 2 (CCN)Hg 2 Br 5 ] ( 2a ) and [durene(CH 2 bimy n Bu) 2 Hg 2 (CCN)Hg 2 Br 5 ] ( 2b ; durene = 1,2,4,5‐tetramethylbenzene, bimy = benzimidazol‐2‐ylidene, CCN = triply deprotonated acetonitrile). In 2a or 2b , a funnel‐like molecular structure is formed by a triply deprotonated acetonitrile, a bidentate biscarbene ligand, the Hg II ions, and the bromide ions. Additionally, analysis of the crystal packings of 2a or 2b reveals that the double‐stranded 1D supramolecular chains are formed through intermolecular weak interactions, including π–π stacking interactions, C–H ··· Br hydrogen bonds, and weak O ··· Hg bonds.