We report the synthesis and structural, thermal and vibrational characterization of five complexes of the 2,2'bipyrimidine (bipym) with HgX 2 , X=Cl, Br, I, CN, SCN, with the aim to investigate the factors that could influence the supramolecular chemistry of mercury(II). The combination of the 2,2'-bipym ligand, a bidentate molecule, and bridging anions together with a d 10 metal like mercury(II) has given different polymeric structures with 1D and 3D dimensionality. A computational modelling, compared to statistical analysis of reported structures, has allowed to rationalize the differing contribution of bipym and halide and pseudohalide ligands to supramolecular architecture. Solid state photoluminescent properties have been investigated and an interpretation based on computational models has been proposed.