title: Bis[2-(3-pyridinio)benzimidazolium] di-mu-chloro-bis[trichlorocadmium(II)].
abstract: The title compound, (C12H11N3)2[Cd2Cl8], consists of two discrete 2-(3-pyridinio)benzimidazolium cations and one [Cd2Cl8]4- anion. The dimeric [Cd2Cl8]4- anion lies about an inversion centre and consists of two distorted [CdCl5] trigonal bipyramids which share a common edge. The two Cd atoms are each coordinated by two mu-Cl atoms and three terminal Cl atoms, with a Cd...Cd separation of 3.9853 (6) A. The packing displays two-dimensional hydrogen-bonded sheets, which are further linked by C-H...Cl contacts and pi-pi stacking interactions to yield a three-dimensional network.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Structural Chemistry, Fujian Institute of Research on the Structure of Matter, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Fuzhou, Fujian 350002, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chang-Kun
authors.initials: CK
authors.lastname: Xia
authors.forename: Quan-Zheng
authors.initials: QZ
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: Shu-Mei
authors.initials: SM
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Xiang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: He
authors.forename: Can-Zhong
authors.initials: CZ
authors.lastname: Lu