A linear piperazine–pyridine ligand and its Hg coordination polymer

Reaction of piperazine hexahydrate with 4-chloromethylpyridine hydrochloride affords a new piperazine–pyridine ligand: N,N′-bis(4-pyridylmethyl)piperazine (bpmp). X-ray structure analysis confirms an overall linear structure, in which the lone electron pairs of piperazine-N are in trans-position. Its zigzag polymer with Hg2+ was readily obtained in THF. Bpmp is held in the chair conformation in the polymer, and Hg2+ coordinates to two N atoms from different bpmp ligands and two I atoms.