Coordination Chemistry of Anticrowns. Isolation of the Chloride Complex of the Four-Mercury Anticrown {[(o,o′-C6F4C6F4Hg)4]Cl}− from the Reaction of o,o′-Dilithiooctafluorobiphenyl with HgCl2 and Its Transformations to the Free Anticrown and the Complexes with o-Xylene, Acetonitrile, and Acetone

The paper reports that the interaction of o,o′-dilithiooctafluorobiphenyl with HgCl2 in ether results in the formation of the lithium chloride complex Li{[(o,o′-C6F4C6F4Hg)4]Cl} (11) of the four-mercury anticrown (o,o′-C6F4C6F4Hg)4 (12) along with the earlier isolated and characterized three-mercury anticrown (o,o′-C6F4C6F4Hg)3 (2). The complex was identified by the reaction with 12-crown-4 and determination of the structure of the [Li(12-crown-4)2]{[(o,o′-C6F4C6F4Hg)4]Cl} (13) formed. According to an X-ray analysis, the chloride anion in 13 is simultaneously coordinated with all four Hg centers of the anticrown, forming with them a pyramidal Hg4Cl fragment. The reaction of 11 (in the form of an acetonitrile solvate, 11·nMeCN) with boiling water leads to removal of LiCl from 11 and to the formation of free anticrown 12, the subsequent recrystallization of which from o-xylene affords the o-xylene complex {[(o,o′-C6F4C6F4Hg)4](o-Me2C6H4)2} (14). The obtained 14 forms in the crystal infinite chains consistin...