The layered compound poly[μ₂-4,4′-bipyridyl-di-μ₂-chlorido-mercury(II)]

The title compound, [HgCl₂(C₁₀H₈N₂)]_n, features two-dimensional [HgCl₂(4,4′-bipy)]_n neutral networks (4,4′-bipy is 4,4′-bipyridine), based on an octa­hedral Hg atom coordinated by four μ₂-Cl atoms and two μ₂-4,4′-bipy ligands in trans positions, yielding a HgCl₄N₂ octa­hedron. The structure has mmm symmetry about the Hg atoms, with most of the atoms on at least one mirror plane, but the unsubstituted C atoms of the 4,4′-bipy rings are disordered across a mirror plane. Photoluminescent investigations reveal that the title compound displays a strong emission in the green region, which probably originates from a ligand-to-ligand charge-transfer transition.