metal-organic compounds
In CuI and AgI ladder-like coordination polymers, two metal ions are linked by two 2-ethyl-1-(pyridin-3-ylmethyl)-1H-benzimidazole ligands (bep) to form a centrosymmetric 18-membered M2(bep)2 metallacycle, while adjacent M2(bep)2 metallacycles are further interlinked by another two bep ligands resulting in a ladder-like array.