Abstract: | 1H, 13C, 14N and 199Hg NMR data were obtained for organomercury fulminates, RHgCNO (R ? Me, Ph, CNO). The relatively slow relaxation processes effective for the quadrupolar nitrogen muclei of these compounds allow the detection of 199Hg? 14N scalar coupling constants. This feature is ascribed to the presence of low electric field gradients around the 14N nucleus, owing to the presence of the mercury atom. In mercury fulminate, the 199Hg nucleus appears to be coupled with two equivalent 14N nuclei, thus indicating the existence of a covalent structure Hg(CNO)2 in solution. |