Two unusual 12-connected metal–organic coordination polymers with fcu net

•Two new 3D metal–organic coordination polymers based on biphenyl-2,5,2′,5′-tetracarboxylic acid ligand have been synthesized.•Two compounds exhibit rare 12-connected fcu topology.•Photoluminescent property at room temperature has been investigated.

Two new three-dimensional 12-connected metal–organic coordination polymers, [Zn2(bptc)(H2O)]·C2H5OH·H2O (1) and [Cd4(bptc)2(bbi)(H2O)]·H2O (2) (H4bptc=biphenyl-2,5,2′,5′-tetracarboxylic acid, bbi=1,1′-(1,4-butanediyl)bis(imidazole)), have been solvothermally synthesized and structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. All compounds are also characterized by elemental analyses, IR spectra, thermogravimetric (TG) analyses and X-ray powder diffraction (XRD). Topological analysis indicates that both 1 and 2 are 12-connected frameworks with fcu topology, which are based on cuboid cage and rob-like {Cd3} subunit as 12-connected nodes, respectively. Furthermore, the luminescence properties of the two compounds were discussed in detail.

Graphical abstractTwo new compounds with unusual 12-connected fcu topology display intriguing structural feature, as well as luminescence property.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload as PowerPoint slide