New one-dimensional imidazole-bridged cadmium(II) coordination polymers—syntheses, crystal structures and photoluminescence

Two new d10 metal coordination polymers, [Cd(HIDC)(H2O)2]n (1) and [Cd(HIDC)(phen)]n (2) (H3IDC=4,5-imidazoledicarboxylic acid, phen=1,10-phenanthroline), have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by elemental analysis, IR, TG, and single crystal X-ray diffraction. X-ray single-crystal structural analyses reveal that 1 is a three-dimensional (3D) network featuring one-dimensional honeycomb-like channels constructed from one-dimensional coordination chains via hydrogen bonds, while the 3D supramolecular framework of 2 is formed via π–π stacking interactions between chains. Moreover, both of them display photoluminescent properties in the blue range at room temperature.