LAUSR

Abstract Two new metal organic architectures, formulated as {(pbetixH 2 ) 0.5 [Zn(µ-sip)(µ-pbetix) 0.5 ]} n ( 1 ) and {[Zn 2 (µ-sip) 2 (pbisopix)(pbisopixH) 2 ]·4H 2 O} n ( 2 ), were synthesized based on the rarely employed 1,4-bis((2-ethylimidazol-1-yl)methyl)benzene (pbetix) and 1,4-bis((2-isopropylimidazol-1-yl)methyl)benzene (pbisopix) ligands, along with the 5-sulfoisophthalate (sip) ligand. Complexes 1 and 2 were synthesized in basic medium and under mild hydrothermal conditions. Both complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy and single crystal X-ray diffraction studies. Crystallographic studies of complexes 1 and 2 reveal that the Zn(II) ions are µ-bridged by trianionic sip 3− ligands in the bis(monodentate) coordination mode to generate 1D polymer chains. In the complexes, adjacent chains are linked by the bis(imidazole) ligands to form a 2D structure. Complex 1 is the first example containing a protonated bis(imidazole) ligand, namely the pbetixH 2 cation, while complex 2 is the first example with a monoprotonated bis(imidazole) ligand, namely pbisopixH. Topological analyses of the 2D coordination polymers reveal that complex 1 is a 3-fold polycatenated 4-connected uninodal net with the point symbol of {4 4 .6 2 }, whereas complex 2 is a 3-connected uninodal net with the point symbol of 6 3 . The thermal behavior, photoluminescent properties and topological analysis of the complexes are also discussed herein.