Crystal Structure and Thermal Behaviour of the Mixed‐Valent Basic Mercury Nitrate HgI2(OH)(NO3)·HgIIO

Single crystals of the hitherto unknown compound Hg₂(OH)(NO₃)·HgO were obtained unintentionally during hydrothermal phase formation experiments in the system Ag—Hg— As—O. Hg₂(OH)(NO₃)·HgO (orthorhombic, Pbca, Z = 8, a = 6.4352(8), b = 11.3609(14), c = 15.958(2) Å, 1693 structure factors, 83 parameters, R1F² > 2σ(F²)] = 0.0431) adopts a new structure type and is composed of two types of mercury‐oxygen zig‐zag‐chains running perpendicular to each other and of intermediate nitrate groups. One type of chains runs parallel 010] and consists of (Hg—Hg—OH) units with a typical Hg—Hg distance of 2.5143(10) Å for the mercury dumbbell, whereas the other type of chains runs parallel 100] and is made up of (O—Hg—O) units with short Hg—O distances of about 2.02Å. Both types of chains are concatenated by a common O atom with a slightly longer Hg—O distance of 2.25Å. The three‐dimensional assembly is completed by nitrate groups whose O atoms show Hg—O distances > 2.80Å. Weak hydrogen bonding between the OH group and one oxygen atom belonging to the nitrate group stabilizes this arrangement. Hg₂(OH)(NO₃)·HgO decomposes above 200 °C to HgO.