Synthesis, crystal structure and fluorescent sensing property of metal–organic frameworks with 1,3-di(1H-imidazol-4-yl)benzene and 1,4-phenylenediacetate

Abstract In this work, two new metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) based on 1,3-di(1H-imidazol-4-yl)benzene (L) and 1,4-phenylenediacetic acid (H 2 pda), namely [Ni(L)(pda)(H 2 O)] ( 1 ) and [Cd(L)(pda)] ( 2 ), have been achieved. MOFs 1 and 2 have distinct infinite one-dimensional (1D) chain structures, which are further linked together by hydrogen bonding interactions to give the eventual three-dimensional (3D) supramolecular architectures. Photoluminescence studies revealed that the Cd(II) MOF 2 shows strong emission at 346 nm upon excitation at 308 nm at room temperature. Furthermore, 2 can efficiently detecting acetone molecules, and Fe 3+ and Cr 2 O 7 2− ions via fluorescent quenching.