Single Crystal Growth and Crystal Structure of Anhydrous Mercury(I) Nitrate,Hg2(NO3)2

Polycrystalline anhydrous Hg₂(NO₃)₂ was prepared by drying Hg₂(NO₃)₂·2H₂O over concentrated sulphuric acid. Evaporation of a concentrated and slightly acidified mercury(I) nitrate solution to which the same volumetric amount of pyridine was added, led to the growth of colourless rod‐like single crystals of Hg₂(NO₃)₂. Besides the title compound, crystals of hydrous Hg₂(NO₃)₂·2H₂O and the basic (Hg₂)₂(OH)(NO₃)₃ were formed as by‐products after a crystallization period of about 2 to 4 days at room temperature. The crystal structure was determined from two single crystal diffractometer data sets collected at —100°C and at room temperature: space group P2₁, Z = 4, —100°C room temperature]: a = 6.2051(10) 6.2038(7)]Å, b = 8.3444(14) 8.3875(10)]Å, c = 11.7028(1) 11.7620(14)]Å, ß = 93.564(3) 93.415(2)]°, 3018 3202] structure factors, 182 182] parameters, RFμ² > 2σ(Fμ²)] = 0.0266 0.0313]. The structure is built up of two crystallographically inequivalent Hg₂²⁺ dumbbells and four NO₃^— groups which form molecular O₂N‐O‐Hg‐Hg‐O‐NO₂] units with short Hg‐O bonds. Via long Hg‐O bonds to adjacent nitrate groups the crystal packing is achieved. The Hg‐Hg distances with an average of d(Hg‐Hg) = 2.5072Å are in the typical range for mercurous oxo compounds. The oxygen coordination around the mercury dumbbells is asymmetric with four and six oxygen atoms as ligands for the two mercury atoms of each dumbbell. The nitrate groups deviate slightly from the geometry of an equilateral triangle with an average distance of d(N‐O) = 1.255Å.