Incorporation of in situ generated 3,3′-(sulfane­diyl)bis­(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione) into a one-dimensional CuI coordination polymer with sulfur-bridged {CuI4S10}n central cores

The reaction of [Cu(CH3CN)4](BF4) with 1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione {SC3H4(NMe)NH}, under aerobic conditions at room temperature, yielded an unusual one-dimensional coordination polymer, namely, catena-poly[[[(1-meth­yl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione-κS)copper(I)]-μ-(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione)-κ2S:S-copper(I)-μ-[3,3′-(sulfanedi­yl)bis­(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione)]-κ5S,S′,S′′:S,S′′] bis­(tetra­fluorido­borate)], {[Cu2(C4H8N2S)2(C8H14N4S3)](BF4)2}n or [Cu4(κ5:L1—N—S—N—L1)2(κ1:L1—NH)2(κ2:L1—NH)2]n(BF4)4n1 [L1 = SC3 H4(NMe)NH] with sulfur-bridged {CuI4S10}n central cores. The in situ generated bis­(1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidinyl-2-thione) sulfide [{SC3H4(NMe)NSN(NMe)C3H4S; abbrev. L1—N—S—N—L1] ligand, in combin­ation with 1-methyl-1,3-imidazolidine-2-thione (L1—NH) ligands, construct this coordination polymer. Each CuI ion is bonded to four sulfur donor atoms in a distorted tetra­hedral geometry and the formation of this polymer solely by sulfur donor atoms with {CuI4S10}n central cores, is the first such example in copper–heterocyclic-2-thione chemistry.