Poly[[2-(3-pyridinio)-1H,3H (+)-benzimidazolium] [μ(4)-oxido-di-μ(3)-oxido-tetra-μ(2)-oxido-hexa­oxidotetra­molybdenum(VI)]]

The reaction of MoO(3) with 2-(3-pyrid­yl)benzoimidazole and water in the presence of MnSO(4)·5H(2)O at 453 K under hydro­thermal conditions afforded the title compound, {(C(12)H(11)N(2))[Mo(4)O(13)]}(n), in which infinite molybdenum oxide anionic chains are charge-balanced by diprotonated 2-(3-pyrid­yl)benzoimidazole (H(2)3-PBIM(2+)) cations. Eight [MoO(6)] octa­hedra are edge-shared, forming compact octa­molybdate subunits which are connected through pairs of Mo—O—Mo bridges into extended one-dimensional arrays propagating along the a-axis direction. The asymmetric unit of the metal oxide chain contains one half of the octa­molybdate unit, denoted [Mo(4)O(13)], the other half being generated by an inversion center. These molybdenum oxide chains are further connected through the 2-(3-pyridinio)benzoimidazolium cations into a three-dimensional network via N—H⋯O hydrogen bonds. In addition, neighbouring diprotonated cations are arranged in a head-to-tail fashion with a plane-to-plane separation of 3.63 (10) Å, indicating the existence of weak aromatic π–π stacking inter­actions.