Mercury(II) exhibits a strong preference for linear coordination which has been attributed to relativistic effects splitting the 6p orbitals and promoting sp hybridization. If the two ligands attached to the mercury(II) ion are weak donors, the metal ion can act as a good Lewis acid and expand its coordination number. Moreover, mercury has a special affinity for softer bases, such as S and N atoms, and has much less affinity for hard bases, such as those including an O atom. The asymmetric unit of dichlorido[tris(piperidin-1-yl)phosphane oxide- ΚO]mercury(II)-dichlorido mercury(II) (2/1), [HgCl₂{(C₅H₁₀N)₃PO}]₂·[HgCl₂], is composed of one HgCl₂{(C₅H₁₀N)₃PO} complex and one half of a discrete HgCl₂ entity located on an inversion centre. The coordination environment around the HgII centre in the complex component is a distorted T-shape. Bond- valence-sum calculations confirm the three-coordination mode of the HgII atom of the complex mol ecule. The noncovalent nature of the Hg...Cl and Hg...O interactions in the structure are discussed
