Thermodynamic data are
reported for the reaction of mercury(11) halides with a range of potentially
bidentate bases in benzene solution. The enthalpy data show that in 1 : 1
adducts with tetramethyl-alkanediamines and bis(diphenylphosphino)ethane both donor atoms are coordinated,
the mercury being four-coordinate with two Hg-N or Hg-P bonds, each of
comparable strength to those in 1 : 1 adducts with unidentate
bases. N-Methylmorpholine
and dioxan are almost certainly unidentate.
1,10-Phenanthroline, 2,2'-bipyridine and N,N'-dimethylpiperazine gave 1 : 1 adducts of higher stability
than those of unidentate bases, but the enthalpies of
adduct formation were similar or smaller; the most satisfactory explanation of
this seems to be that both nitrogen atoms arecoordinated
but that the two Hg-N bonds are unusually weak because of steric misfitting of the bidentate base with the mercury atom.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.