Mercury complexes of an N-heterocyclic carbene derived from a calixarene/azolium cyclophane hybrid

Reaction of mercuric acetate with an imidazolium-linked cyclophane incorporating 2,6-phenolic moieties results in formation of an interesting new N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC) complex of mercury. The new complex is cationic and binuclear, incorporating two mercury centres and two bis(NHC) ligands, each mercury atom being bound by two NHC moieties and two phenol/phenoxy moieties. Forms of the complex having coordinating (\( {\text{HgBr}}_{4}^{2 - } \)) and non-coordinating (\( {\text{PF}}_{6}^{ - } \)) counterions have been structurally characterised.