The linear quadridentate N2S2 donor ligand 1,7-bis(N-methylbenzimidazol-2'-yl)-2,6-dithiaheptane (bmdhp) forms mono-and di-hydrate 1 : 1 copper(i1) complexes which are significantly more stable toward autoreduction than those of the non-methylated analogue. The deep green monohydrate of the perchlorate salt crystallises as the mononuclear aqua-complex, [Cu(bmdhp)(OH,)] [CIO4I2, in the monoclinic space group P2,/n, with Z = 4, a = 18.459(3), & = 10.362(2), c = 16.365(3) A, and B = 1 1 7.1 4(1)". The structure was solved and refined by standard Patterson, Fourier, and least-squares techniques to R = 0.047 and R' = 0.075 for 3 343 independent reflections with l > 2 4 4 . The compound consists of [Cu(bmdhp) (OH2)I2+ ions and C104counter ions. The co-ordination around copper is intermediate between trigonal bipyramidal and square pyramidal, with CU-N distances of 1.950(4) and 1.997(4) A, Cu-O(water) 2.225(4) A, and Cu-S 2.328(1) and 2.337(1) A. In the solid state, the perchlorate dihydrate's co-ordination sphere may be a topoisomer of the monohydrate's. A new angular structural parameter, 7 , is defined and proposed as an index of trigonality, as a general descriptor of five-co-ordinate centric molecules. By this criterion, the irregular co-ordination geometry of [Cu(bmdhp)(OH2)I2+ in the solid state is described as being 48% along the pathway of distortion from square pyramidal toward trigonal bipyramidal. In the electronic spectrum of the complex, assignment is made of the S(thioether) -+ Cu charge-transfer bands by comparison with those of the colourless complex Zn(bmdhp)(OH) (C104). E.s.r. and ligand-field spectra show that the copper(ii) compounds adopt a tetragonal structure in donor solvents.Continuing interest in the chemistry of copper-thioether complexes has been promoted by the occurrence of the methionine side-chain as a structurally essential active-site component in a plastocyanin and two a ~u r i n s . ~-~ The additional presence of strongly bound imidazole nitrogen has stimulated the synthesis of various types of copper compounds with biomimetic donors,6-" which are intended to probe the consequences of the nitrogenlsulphur co-ordination and irregular geometry which are the hallmarks of the protein type-1 copper centres.We have prepared a series of chelating ligands with biomimetic donor atoms of the general structure shown below.l2-l5 These quadridentate ligands contain two imidazole nitrogendonor atoms, sterically hindered because they form part of the bulky benzimidazole groups, and two thioether sulphur atoms, with a varying number of carbon atoms