catena-Poly[[bis-(1-ethyl-1H-imidazole-κN)cadmium]-di-μ-chlorido-[(1-ethyl-1H-imidazole-κN)cadmium]-di-μ-chlorido-[(1-ethyl-1H-imidazole-κN)cadmium]-di-μ-chlorido-[bis-(1-ethyl-1H-imidazole-κN)cadmium]].

The asymmetric unit of the crystal structure of the title compound, [Cd(2)Cl(4)(C(5)H(8)N(2))(3)](n), contains two Cd(II) cations, three 1-ethyl-1H-imidazole ligands, and four Cl(-) anions. The two Cd(II) atoms have quite different coordination environments: one is octa-hedrally coordinated by four Cl atoms and two N atoms from two 1-ethyl-1H-imidazole ligands, and the second is in a severely distorted fivefold coordination by four Cl atoms and one N atom from a 1-ethyl-1H-imidazole ligand. Adjacent Cd(II) cations are inter-connected alternately by pairs of chloride bridges, generating an infinite step-like chain along the a axis. One ethyl group of the 1-ethyl-1H-imidazole ligand is disordered over two sets of sites with a 0.668 (13):0.332 (13) site-occupancy ratio.