High Valent Mercury Fluoride Ions.

Mercury fluoride ions formed during the laser ablation of HgF show the formation of six different cluster ion series viz., HgF , Hg F , Hg F , (HgF) , Hg F , and Hg F . Among the different ion series, the observation of high valent HgF indicates the existence of corresponding molecules which signify the remarkable participation of 5d Hg electrons in the chemical bonding with F atoms and thus make Hg a truly transition metal. Further, molecular orbital calculations show a large HOMO-LUMO energy gap (≥3 eV) and high electron affinity (≥5 eV) that indicates highly stable HgF with super halogen properties.