Crystal and molecular structure of polymeric MeSHgO2CMe and MeSHgO2CMe,C5H5N and the tetranuclear complex (ButS)4Cl4Hg4(C5H5N)2

Crystals of methanethiolatomercury(II) acetate are monoclinic, P 21/c, with a 5.292(2), b 15.912(7), c 7.086(2) Ǻ, β 92.96(3)°, Z 4, and its pyridine complex MeSHgO2CMe,C5H5N is monoclinic, P21/n, with a 10.093(3), b 7.026(2), c 15.350(5) Ǻ, β 105.01(3)°, Z4. Both structures are based on a polymeric chain (-Hg-SMe-)n with coordinated acetate groups. In MeSHgO2CMe the chains are linked into sheets by bridging acetate groups, and in the pyridine complex the chains are isolated with pyridine and acetate coordination at each mercury. Crystals of (ButS)4Cl4Hg4(C5H5N)2 are triclinic, Pī, with a 14.399(6), b 9.893(6), c 9.597(5) Ǻ, α 121.82(1), β 102.52(4), γ 102.94(4)°, and Z 1. The structure is based on a tetranuclear grouping of mercury atoms bridged by chloride and thiolate species and centrosymmetric about the origin. There are two mercury environments 'Hg(μ-SBut)2ClN' and 'Hg(μ-SBut)2(μ-Cl)2' with the dichloro bridge linking two equivalent mercury atoms on opposite sides of an (-Hg-SBut-)4 ring.