On the structures, lifetimes, and infrared spectra of alkylmercury hydrides

A series of six small alkylmercury hydrides of the general formula RHgH with R=methyl, ethyl, n-propyl, isopropyl, n-butyl, and 3-butenyl were obtained by reduction in vacuo of the corresponding mercury halide with tributyltin hydride in the presence of a radical inhibitor. These very reactive compounds, which have to be removed from the reaction mixture as they are formed, were characterized by (1)H NMR and (13)C NMR spectroscopy. The IR spectra of n-propyl-, isopropyl-, n-butyl-, and 3-butenylmercury hydride were recorded for the first time. All compounds were then studied by density functional theory calculations on the basis of a recent theoretical assessment for alkylmercury compounds performed by our group. Comparison of the experimental and theoretical results allowed the assignment of the vibrational modes in an unambiguous way, in spite of the low intrinsic stability of some of the derivatives investigated. The experimental procedure implemented for registering the IR spectra of these unstable species in the gas phase allowed us to obtain reasonable estimates of their lifetimes.