Crystal structure of bis(4-acetylanilinium) tetrachloridomercurate(II)

Abstract

The structure of the title salt, (C8H10NO)2[HgCl4], is isotypic with that of the cuprate(II) and cobaltate(II) analogues. The asymmetric unit contains one 4-acetyl­anilinium cation and one half of a tetra­chlorido­mercurate(II) anion (point group symmetry m). The Hg—Cl distances are in the range 2.4308 (7)–2.5244 (11) Å and the Cl—Hg—Cl angles in the range of 104.66 (2)–122.94 (4)°, indicating a considerable distortion of the tetra­hedral anion. In the crystal, cations are linked by an inter­molecular N—H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter­action, leading to a C(8) chain motif with the chains extending parallel to the b axis. There is also a π–π stacking inter­action with a centroid-to-centroid distance of 3.735 (2) Å between neighbouring benzene rings along this direction. The anions lie between the chains and inter­act with the cations through inter­molecular N—H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, leading to the formation of a three-dimensional network structure.