The layered compound poly[mu2-4,4'-bipyridyl-di-mu2-chlorido-mercury(II)].

The title compound, [HgCl2(C(10)H(8)N(2))]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 mu2-Cl atoms and two mu2-4,4'-bipy ligands in trans positions, yielding a HgCl(4)N(2) 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.