Mercury Diorganomercury compounds

Primary [21] and secondary [22] alkyl iodides are reduced in a stepwise fashion at mercury cathodes to form alkyl radicals and alkyl carbanions the alkyl radicals undergo coupling and disproportionation as well as interaction with the electrode to yield diorganomercury compounds, and... 

For over 70years, one of the most convenient methods used for the preparation of triaryl and trialkyl indium compounds has been the direct reaction of indium metal with diorganomercury compounds [5,6]. The method is, however, quite time consuming due to the general unreactive nature of indium metal. In some instances, reaction times of a week or more are required to obtain modest yields [5,7]. Of greater concern, the reaction generates mercury. We reported a new procedure for the rapid preparation of triaryl and trialkyl indium compounds in essentially quantitative yields [9]. 

Diorganomercury compounds (s. a. Mercury compounds, trihalogeno-methyl-)... 

Owing to the weakness of the Tl-C bonds, triorganothallium derivatives are highly reactive compounds. Trimethyl-and triphenylthallium react with mercury to form the corresponding diorganomercury derivatives and elemental thallium (equation 9). ... 

Organomercury crown ether derivatives have been structurally characterized as threaded host-guest complexes of bis(trifluoromethyl)mercury with dibenzocrown ethers [394, 395]. Other threaded diorganomercury host-guest complexes of crown ethers have been studied in solution [396-398]. Internally complexed organomercury compounds (with Hg-Me and other groups) and l,3-xylyl-18-crown-5, e.g. 102, are also known [399]. 

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