Salts of two pentahalo(N‐donor)­bismuthate(III) anions: [BiX5L]2− (X = Cl,Br; L = pyridine, 4‐picoline)

Two pentahalo(N‐donor)­bismuthate(III) salts, bis­hydrogen bis(4‐picoline)(1+)] penta­bromo(4‐picoline‐N)bismuthate(III), (C₁₂H₁₅N₂)₂BiBr₅(C₆H₇N)], (I), and bis­(pyridinium) penta­chloro­(pyridine‐N)­bismuthate(III), (C₅H₆N)₂BiCl₅(C₅H₅N)], (II), are described which show modest deviations from octahedral geometry at bismuth. In (I), the cations comprise two 4‐picoline mol­ecules sharing a proton and in (II), pyridinium cations are present. The anion in (I) has twofold and that in (II) has mirror crystallographic symmetry. Both structures show a layered packing formed by the anions with the cations between the layers. Ring–ring interactions seem important in (I), whilst in (II), N/­C—H?Cl—Bi hydrogen bonding is abundant.