Poly[bis-[µ2-4,4'-bis-(imidazol-1-ylmeth-yl)biphenyl-κ2 N:N']di-chlorido-nickel(II)].

In the title compound, [NiCl2(C20H18N4)2] n , the Ni2+ cation is situated on an inversion center and is coordinated by two chloride ions and four imidazole N atoms of four different 4,4'-bis-[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)meth-yl]-1,1'-biphenyl (BIMB), forming a slightly distorted octa-hedral geometry. Each BIMB ligand adopts a linear linker to connect Ni2+ ions, forming a two-dimensional layer with an sql network. In the crystal, neighboring layers repeat in an ABAB stacking mode, and weak inter-molecular C-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds between alternate layers lead to a three-dimensional, twofold inter-penetrated, supra-molecular framework with a pcu topology net.