Sterically demanding multidentate ligand tris[(2-(6-methylpyridyl))methyl]amine slows exchange and enhances solution state ligand proton NMR coupling to (199)Hg(II).

The solution state coordination chemistry of Hg(ClO(4))(2) with tris[(2-(6-methylpyridyl))methyl]amine (TLA) was investigated in acetonitrile-d(3) by proton NMR. Although Hg(II) is a d(10) metal ion commonly associated with notoriously rapid exchange between coordination environments, as many as six ligand environments were observed to be in slow exchange on the chemical shift time scale at select metal-to-ligand ratios. One of these ligand environments was associated with extensive heteronuclear coupling between protons and (199)Hg and was assigned to the complex [Hg(TLA)](2+). The (5)J((1)H(199)Hg) = 8 Hz associated with this complex is the first example of five-bond coupling in a nitrogen coordination compound of Hg(II). The spectral complexity of related studies conducted in acetone-d(6) precluded analysis of coordination equilibria. Crystallographic characterization of the T-shaped complex [Hg(TLAH)(CH(2)COCH(3))](ClO(4))(2) (1) in which two pyridyl rings are pendant suggested that the acidity of acetone combined with the poor coordinating abilities of the neutral solvent adds additional complexity to solution equilibria. The complex crystallizes in the triclinic space group P1 macro with a = 9.352(2) A, b = 12.956(2) A, c = 14.199(2) A, alpha = 115.458(10) degrees, beta = 90.286(11) degrees, gamma = 108.445(11) degrees, and Z = 2. The Hg-N(amine), Hg-N(pyridyl), and Hg-C bond lengths in the complex are 2.614(4), 2.159(4), and 2.080(6) A, respectively. Relevance to development of (199)Hg NMR as a metallobioprobe is discussed.