Zinc pyrithione is a coordination complex of zinc

Zinc

Zinc , or spelter , is a metallic chemical element; it has the symbol Zn and atomic number 30. It is the first element in group 12 of the periodic table. Zinc is, in some respects, chemically similar to magnesium, because its ion is of similar size and its only common oxidation state is +2...

. This colourless solid is used as an antifungal and antibacterial agent. This coordination complex, which has many names, was first reported in the 1930s.
The pyrithione ligands, which are formally monoanions, are chelated

Chelation

Chelation is the formation or presence of two or more separate coordinate bonds between apolydentate ligand and a single central atom....

 to Zn²⁺ via oxygen

Oxygen

Oxygen is the element with atomic number 8 and represented by the symbol O. Its name derives from the Greek roots ὀξύς and -γενής , because at the time of naming, it was mistakenly thought that all acids required oxygen in their composition...

 and sulfur

Sulfur

Sulfur or sulphur is the chemical element with atomic number 16. In the periodic table it is represented by the symbol S. It is an abundant, multivalent non-metal. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with chemical formula S8. Elemental sulfur is a bright yellow...

 centers. In the crystalline state, zinc pyrithione exists as a centrosymmetric dimer (see figure).