N,N′-Bis(2-aza­niumylbenz­yl)ethane-1,2-diaminium tetra­chloride

The title compound, C(16)H(26)N(4) (4+)·4Cl(-), is based on a fully protonated tetra-amine. In the cation, both benzene rings are connected by an all-trans chain, and the rings are almost parallel, with an angle between the mean planes of 8.34 (12)°. The benzene rings are arranged in such a way that the NH(3) (+) substituents are oriented cis with respect to the central chain. This arrangement is a consequence of multiple N-H⋯Cl hydrogen bonds, involving all N-H groups in the cation and the four independent Cl(-) anions. These contacts have strengths ranging from weak to strong (based on H⋯Cl separations), and generate a complex three-dimensional crystal structure with no preferential crystallographic orientation for the contacts.