Über Cyanohalogenomercurate der Alkalimetalle / On Cyanohalogenomercurates of Alkali Metals

Abstract

The reactions between Hg(CN)2 and HgX2 in aqueous solutions of alkali halides MX (M = Na, K, Rb; X = CN, Cl, Br, I) lead to mixed cyanohalogenomercurates. Several compounds gained by crystallisation from aqueous solutions were characterized with X-ray, spectroscopic and thermal methods. The crystal structures of NaHg(CN)2Cl · H2O, KHg(CN)2Cl · H2O and RbHg(CN)2Cl · H2O have been determined by X-ray structure analysis with three-dimensional data. The compounds can be characterized as double salts, because the structures consist of Hg(CN)2-units and isolated M+ and Cl- ions. The relationship between these structures and those of the non-hydrated compounds are discussed.