The structure ofO-arylmercury derivatives of dihydroxy-9,10-anthraquinones and their reactions with anions

The structure of mono- and di-O-arylmercury-derivatives of quinizarin (1,4-dihydroxy-9, 10-anthraquinone) and anthrarufin (1,5-dihydroxy-9, 10-anthraquinone) and their reactions with Br^–, Cl^–, OH^–, and^tBuO^– anions in the solid state and in aprotic solvents were examined by vibrational and electron spectroscopy. These reactions result in cleavage of the O-Hg bond. The formation of ions or contact ion pairs depends on the size and nature of the counterion; quinizarin dianions give very strong ion pairs with K⁺ cations, which do not cleave in DMSO. The electronic structure of mono- and dianions of the compounds studied is discussed.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 12, pp. 2933–2940, December, 1996.