Two new complexes, [Zn(O(2)CPh)(2)(L)(2)].2MeOH (1.2MeOH) and [Ni(2)(O(2)CPh))(4)(L)(2)].2MeCN (2.2MeCN), have been synthesized and characterized by X-ray analysis in the course of an ongoing investigation of the M(II)/X(-)/L [M(II) = Co, Ni, Cu, Zn; X(-) = Cl(-), Br(-), I(-), NCS(-), NO(3) (-), N(3) (-), PhCO(2) (-); L = 1-methyl-4,5-diphenylimidazole] reaction system, aiming at understanding and assessing the relative strength and the way in which the intermolecular interactions control the supramolecular organization of these compounds. In the mononuclear complex 1.2MeOH, the benzoate ion acts as a monodentate ligand resulting in a distorted tetrahedral N(2)O(2) coordination environment. Complex 2.2MeCN exhibits a dinuclear paddle-wheel structure; each Ni(II) has a square pyramidal NiNO(4) chromophore with four benzoate oxygens in the basal plane and the pyridine-type nitrogen atom of one ligand L at the apex. The structure of 1.2MeOH is stabilized by intramolecular pi-pi interactions between aromatic rings of adjacent 4,5-diphenylimidazole moieties; it is a feature also evidenced in similar compounds of the type [MX(2)L(2)].