catena-Poly[[(2,2'-biimidazole-kappa2N,N')chlorocopper(II)]-mu-chloro]

In the polymeric title compound, [CuCl2(C6H6N4)]n, each CuII ion is five-coordinated by four basal atoms (two N atoms from a 2,2'-biimidazole molecule and two Cl- anions) and one axial Cl- anion, in a distorted square-pyramidal coordination geometry. Cl- anions bridge the {Cu(C6H6N4)Cl} units into one-dimensional linear chains, which are reinforced by pi-pi interactions. Adjacent linear chains are linked by N-H...Cl hydrogen bonds, resulting in a grid layer. The hydrogen-bonding pattern can be described in graph-set notation as C(2)2(9)R(2)2(9)R(2)2(14). This study extends our knowledge of the multifunctional properties of the 2,2'-biimidazole ligand and of the coordination stereochemistry of copper(II).