The crystal structures and Hirshfeld surface analyses of a cadmium(II) and a zinc(II) mononuclear complex of the new tetrakis-substituted pyrazine ligand N,N′,N′′,N′′′-[pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetra­yltetra­kis­(methyl­ene)]tetra­kis­(N-methyl­aniline)

The whole mol­ecule of the cadmium(II) complex, di­iodido­{N,N′,N′′,N′′′-[pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetra­yltetra­kis­(methyl­ene)]tetra­kis­(N-methyl­aniline)-κ(3) N (2),N (1),N (6)}cadmium(II), [CdI(2)(C(36)H(40)N(6))], (I), of the ligand N,N′,N′′,N′′′-[pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetra­yltetra­kis­(methyl­ene)]tetra­kis­(N-methyl­aniline) (L), is generated by a twofold rotation symmetry; the twofold axis bis­ects the cadmium atom and the nitro­gen atoms of the pyrazine ring. The ligand coordinates in a mono-tridentate manner and the cadmium atom has a fivefold CdN(3)I(2) coordination environment with a distorted shape. In the zinc(II) complex, dichlorido{N,N′,N′′,N′′′-[pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetra­yltetra­kis­(methyl­ene)]tetra­kis­(N-methyl­aniline)-κ(3) N (2),N (1),N (6)}zinc(II) di­chloro­methane 0.6-solvate, [ZnCl(2)(C(36)H(40)N(6))]·0.6CH(2)Cl(2), (II), ligand L also coordinates in a mono-tridentate manner and the zinc atom has a fivefold ZnN(3)Cl(2) coordination environment with a distorted shape. It crystallized as a partial di­chloro­methane solvate. In the crystal of I, the complex mol­ecules are linked by weak C—H⋯I contacts, forming ribbons propagating along [100]. In the crystal of II, the complex mol­ecules are linked by a series of C—H⋯π inter­actions, forming layers lying parallel to the (1[Image: see text]1) plane. In the crystals of both compounds there are metal–halide⋯π(pyrazine) contacts present. The Hirshfeld analyses confirm the importance of the C—H⋯halide contacts in the crystal packing of both compounds.