Poly[bis(4‐chloropyridinium) tetra‐μ2‐chlorido‐tetrachloridotrimercurate(II)]

The structure of the title compound, {(C₅H₅ClN)₂Hg₃Cl₈]}_n, consists of 4‐chloropyridinium cations and one‐dimensional Hg₃Cl₈]^2? anion chains. There are two coordination environments for Hg^II in the inorganic chain. The first is a distorted tetrahedral geometry made up of an HgCl₂ unit with two Cl^? anion bridges, while the second is an octahedral coordination geometry consisting of an HgCl₂ unit and four chloride‐anion bridges. This gives rise to a novel three‐layer centrosymmetric polymer. Finally, the three‐dimensional network comes about through the many C—H...Cl and N—H...Cl hydrogen bonds that link the organic and inorganic layers.