catena-Poly[[diaqua(1,10-phenanthrolone-N,N')manganese(II)]-mu-(thiosulfato-O:S] and bis(2,2'-bi-pyridyl-N,N')(tetrathionato-O,O')-manganese(II).

The structures of [Mn(S2O3)2(C12H8N2)(H2O(2)] and [Mn(S4O6)(C10H8N2)(2)] are presented. The former consists of pairs of polymeric chains formed by manganese polyhedra bridged by bidentate thiosulfate anions, which are in turn related to each other by a pseudo-twofold screw axis. The latter has crystallographic twofold symmetry and consists of monomers in which manganese displays its typical octahedral coordination provided by the bidentate bites of two bipyridine bases and a tetrathionate anion, which is, to our knowledge, the first chelating tetrathionate to be reported in the literature.