In the title compound, [HgCl2(C15H26N2)], the chiral alkaloid (6R,7S,8S,14S)-(-)-L-sparteine acts as a bidentate ligand, with two Cl- ligands occupying the remaining coordination sites, producing a distorted tetrahedron. The N-Hg-N plane is twisted by 81.1 (2) degrees from the Cl-Hg-Cl plane. The mid-point of the N...N line does not lie exactly on the Cl-Hg-Cl plane but is tilted towards one of the N atoms by 0.346 angstroms. Similarly, the mid-point of the Cl...Cl line is tilted toward one of the Cl atoms by 0.163 angstroms. The packing structure shows that the complex is stabilized by two interatomic Cl...H contacts involving both Cl atoms and the methylene or methine H atoms of the (-)-sparteine ligand.

The crystal structure of the title compound, [CuI(C10H8N2)2]I3, has been reported previously [Freckmann & Tebbe (1981), Acta Cryst. A37, C‐228], but full results were not published. The cation and anion possess crystallographically imposed C2 and Ci symmetry, respectively. The CuII atom is coordinated by four N atoms of two bidentate 2,2′‐bipyridine ligands and one I atom in a distorted trigonal–bipyramidal geometry. The I atom occupies an equatorial position. In the crystal packing, the aryl rings of adjacent bipyridine ligands stack along the c axis to form zigzag chains, with C⋯C and C⋯N separations in the range 3.365–3.713 Å.

Key indicators: single-crystal X-ray study; T = 295 K; mean (C-C) = 0.018 Å; R factor = 0.060; wR factor = 0.110; data-to-parameter ratio = 17.4.In the title compound, [CuHgBr 4 (C 10 H 8 N 2 ) 2 ], the Cu II atom is coordinated by four N atoms of two bidentate 2,2 0 -bipyridine ligands and one Br atom of a tetrabromidomercurate anion in a distorted trigonal-bipyramidal geometry. The Br atom occupies an equatorial position and bridges the Cu II and Hg atoms, with Hg-Br distances of 2.7503 (15) Å , longer by more than 0.15 Å than the terminal Hg-Br bonds. Weakinteractions between symmetry-related pyridine rings stabilize the packing; the shortest C-C distance between two parallel aromatic rings of bipy ligands is 3.491 (9) Å .