Modular assembly between biimidazole complexes and chloride anions. Crystal structures of [Cu(biimidazole)2]Cl2 and [Zn(Cl)(biimidazole)2]Cl

The strong affinity of coordinated biimidazole for chloride ion via N–H⋯Cl− hydrogen bonding has been used as a strategy to build up two different modular assemblies between chloride and biimidazole-metal modules. The crystal structure of these two new metal-containing architectures, {[Cu(H2biim)2]Cl2 (1) and [Zn(Cl)(H2biim)2]Cl (2)}, is reported. The EPR spectrum of 1 is also discussed.