Crystal structure of bis-(4-acetyl-anilinium) tetra-chlorido-mercurate(II)

The structure of the title salt, (C8H10NO)2[HgCl4], is isotypic with that of the cuprate(II) and cobaltate(II) analogues. The asymmetric unit contains one 4-acetyl-anilinium cation and one half of a tetra-chlorido-mercurate(II) anion (point group symmetry m). The Hg-Cl distances are in the range 2.4308 (7)-2.5244 (11) Å and the Cl-Hg-Cl angles in the range of 104.66 (2)-122.94 (4)°, indicating a considerable distortion of the tetra-hedral anion. In the crystal, cations are linked by an inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen-bonding inter-action, leading to a C(8) chain motif with the chains extending parallel to the b axis. There is also a π-π stacking inter-action with a centroid-to-centroid distance of 3.735 (2) Å between neighbouring benzene rings along this direction. The anions lie between the chains and inter-act with the cations through inter-molecular N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, leading to the formation of a three-dimensional network structure.