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 (H2bdc) in the presence of cadmium, zinc, cobalt, nickel, and manganese salts in H2O or H2O/DMF yielded six new complexes, namely, {[Co(BIDPE)(bdc)]2·(H2O)2(DMF)}n (1), {[Cd(BIDPE)(bdc)]4·(H2O)4(DMF)2}n (2), {[Zn(BIDPE)(bdc)]2·(H2O)2(DMF)}n (3), [Cd3(BIDPE)2(bdc)3]n (4), and [Ni(BIDPE)(bdc)(H2O)2]n (5), and [Mn(bdc)(BIDPE)(H2O)]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 H2bdc 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 H2bdc under different reaction conditions. In complexes 5 and 6, BIDPE and H2bdc 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.