Synthesis, crystal structures, and properties of two novel cadmium(II)–organic frameworks based on asymmetric dicarboxylate and N-donor ligands

Two novel cadmium(II)–organic frameworks with asymmetric dicarboxylate and N-donor ligands, namely [Cd(cpa)(phen)]n (1) and {[Cd2(cpa)2(bpy)1.5]·0.5H2O}n (2) (H2cpa = 3-(4-benzoic)propionic acid, phen = 1,10-phenanthroline, bpy = 4,4′-bipyridine) have been hydrothermally synthesized and characterized by elemental analyses, FT-IR spectra, single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses, TGA, powder XRD and fluorescent measurements. 1 displays a double zigzag chain structure containing 8-number and 22-number circles. 2 Shows a 6-connected 3D polymer network based on tetranuclear cadmium cluster units. The most striking feature of 2 is that a pair of identical 3D networks are interlocked with each other to the form a 2-fold interpenetrated 3D α-Po structural topology. The diverse structures of two complexes indicate that the skeleton of N-donor ligands plays a great role in the assembly of such different frameworks. In addition, the thermal stabilities, XRD and photoluminescence properties of 1–2 were also studied.