Bis{μ-1,3-bis-[dimeth-yl(pyridin-3-yl)sil-yl]propane-κ2 N:N'}bis-[di-iodido-zinc(II)] from synchrotron data.

The structure of the title compound, [Zn2I4(C34H52N4Si4)2], has been determined from synchrotron data, λ = 0.70000 Å. The complete metallacyclic mol-ecule is generated by crystallographic inversion symmetry, with the ZnII ion located in a general position. The 1,3-bis-(di-methyl-silyl-3-pyridine)-propane ligand binds to two zinc(II) ions in a horse-shoe fashion, resulting in formation of a dimeric 24-membered macrocycle. The ZnII ion has a typical tetra-hedral geometry via two iodide ions and two N donor atoms of the 1,3-bis-(di-methyl-silyl-3-pyridine)-propane ligand. The macrocyclic dimers inter-act via weak inter-actions [I⋯H (H3CSi-) = 3.08, 3.27 Å].