Syntheses, Structures, and Photochemical Properties of Six New Metal−Organic Frameworks Based on Aromatic Dicarboxylate Acids and V-Shaped Imidazole Ligands

Solvothermal reactions of 4,4′-bis(imidazol-1-yl)diphenyl ether (BIDPE) with deprotonated 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic acid (H 2 bdc) in the presence of cadmium, zinc, cobalt, nickel, and manganese salts in H 2 O or H 2 O/DMF yielded six new complexes, namely, {[Co(BIDPE)(bdc)] 2 ·(H 2 O) 2 (DMF)} n ( 1 ), {[Cd(BIDPE)(bdc)] 4 ·(H 2 O) 4 (DMF) 2 } n ( 2 ), {[Zn(BIDPE)(bdc)] 2 ·(H 2 O) 2 (DMF)} n ( 3 ), [Cd 3 (BIDPE) 2 (bdc) 3 ] n ( 4 ), and [Ni(BIDPE)(bdc)(H 2 O) 2 ] n ( 5 ), and [Mn(bdc)(BIDPE)(H 2 O)] n ( 6 ). These complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, and X-ray single-crystal diffraction. Complexes 1 and 3 reveal a 2-fold interpenetrating three-dimensional (3D) framework constructed from BIDPE and H 2 bdc with Co and Zn salts; complexes 2 and 4 have the same staring materials but possess different 3D frameworks and are prepared from BIDPE and H 2 bdc under different reaction conditions. In complexes 5 and 6, BIDPE and H 2 bdc link Ni and Mn centers, respectively, to generate 2D → 2D interlocked sheets. The thermal stabilities and photochemical properties of these new complexes have also been studied.