Proton Magnetic Resonance Studies of Methylmercuric Halides in Isotropic and Nematic Liquid Crystal Solutions

Abstract

The PMR spectra of methylmercuric halides (chloride, bromide and iodide) including the spectra of the isotopic species containing ¹⁹⁹Hg and ¹³C in the natural abundance have been investigated. Measurements on mixed solutions show that there is a rapid exchange of the halogen atoms. The relative bond distance R_HgC : R_CH and the bond angles HCH and HH_gC are determined. The HCH angle is (110.00±0.04)° for methylmercuric chloride, (110.10±0.03)° for bromide and (110.20±0.03)° for iodide. Within limits of experimental accuracy the ratio R_HgC/R_CH is the same for all the studied compounds (1.828±0.005). The proton chemical shift anisotropies are found to be 2.4, 2.6 and 2.8 ppm for the chloro, bromo and the iodo compound respectively.