ABSTRACT: The whole mol-ecule of the cadmium(II) complex, di-iodido-{N,N',N'',N'''-[pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetra-yltetra-kis-(methyl-ene)]tetra-kis-(N-methyl-aniline)-κ3 N 2,N 1,N 6}cadmium(II), [CdI2(C36H40N6)], (I), of the ligand N,N',N'',N'''-[pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetra-yltetra-kis-(methyl-ene)]tetra-kis-(N-methyl-aniline) (L), is generated by a twofold rotation symmetry; the twofold axis bis-ects the cadmium atom and the nitro-gen atoms of the pyrazine ring. The ligand coordinates in a mono-tridentate manner and the cadmium atom has a fivefold CdN3I2 coordination environment with a distorted shape. In the zinc(II) complex, dichlorido{N,N',N'',N'''-[pyrazine-2,3,5,6-tetra-yltetra-kis-(methyl-ene)]tetra-kis-(N-methyl-aniline)-κ3 N 2,N 1,N 6}zinc(II) di-chloro-methane 0.6-solvate, [ZnCl2(C36H40N6)]·0.6CH2Cl2