Two microporous cadmium(II) metal–organic frameworks, [Cd(cptpy)(Ac)(H2O)·(DMA)(H2O)] n (1) and [Cd(cptpy)2·(DMF)2] n (2) (Hcptpy = 4-(4-carboxyphenyl)-2,2′:4′,4″-terpyridine, DMA = N,N-dimethylacetamide, DMF = dimethylformamide) have been solvothermally synthesized under different reaction conditions. Complex 1 is a double-interpenetrating 3D network, while 2 is a noninterpenetrating (3,5)-connected 2D framework. The dehydrated forms of compounds 1 and 2 exhibit selective adsorption of CO2 over N2 and H2O over CH3OH. In addition, the adsorption value of CO2 for 2 is higher than that of 1. The contents of uncoordinated pyridine nitrogen (Lewis basic sites) per formula unit of 1 and 2 are 2.16 and 4.36%, respectively. Obviously, the grafting of more uncoordinated pyridine nitrogen into compound 2 could enhance adsorption of the acidic CO2 molecule. Notably, both 1 and 2 display strong photoluminescence. The nature of electronic transitions for complex 1 in the photoluminescent process was investigated by means of time-dependent density functional theory (TDDFT) calculations and molecular orbital analyses, which collaborates that the luminescent property is ligand-based.

Six new metal-organic frameworks [Cu(obba)(bimb)·(obbaH(2))](n) (1), [Cu(obba)(bimb)](n) (2), [Zn(2)(obba)(2)(bimb)(2)(DMF)(2)(H(2)O)(3.5)](n) (3), [Ni(3)(2,2',4,4'-bptcH)(2)(bimb)(2)(H(2)O)(2)·(H(2)O)(2)](n) (4), [Ni(2)(bimb)(3)(H(2)O)(6)·(aobtc)·(DMF)(2)·(H(2)O)(2)](n) (5) and [Cd(3,3',4,4'-bptcH(2))(H(2)O)·(bimb)](n) (6), were obtained by reactions of 4,4'-bis(1-imidazolyl)biphenyl (bimb) and multi-carboxylic acids of 4,4'-oxybis(benzoic acid) (obbaH(2)), 2,2',4,4'-biphenyltetracarboxylate acid (2,2',4,4'-bptcH(4)), azoxybenzene-3,3',5,5'-tetracarboxylic acid (aobtcH(4)), and 3,3',4,4'-biphenyltetracarboxylate acid (3,3',4,4'-bptcH(4)) with corresponding metal salts under hydro/solvothermal conditions, respectively. Complexes 1-3 have entangled structures with different topologies: 1 is a 3-fold interpenetrating NbO three-dimensional (3D) network; 2 is a 3-fold interpenetrating dmp 3D net; 3 is a 6-fold interpenetrating dia 3D chiral net containing rare 1D helical chains with the same handedness. Complex 4 is an uninodal 6-connected network with a Schäfli symbol of (4(8)6(4)8(3)) based on the trinuclear Ni(II) subunits, while complexes 5 and 6 are 1D chains. Interestingly, compound 6 represents the rare example of MOFs that exhibit high photocatalytic activity for dye degradation under visible light and shows good stability towards photocatalysis. Complexes 3 and 6 exhibit intense blue emissions in the solid state at room temperature whereas 3 appears to be a good candidate of novel hybrid inorganic-organic NLO material.

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Two three-dimensional microporous compounds, Cu6(BTTC)4­(H2O)6·xS (1) and [(CH3)2NH2]3­[(Cu4Cl)3­(BTTC)8]·yS (2, H3BTTC = benzo-(1,2;3,4;5,6)-tris (thiophene-2′-carboxylic acid), S represents noncoordinated solvent molecules), have been solvothermally synthesized and characterized, both of which are based upon truncated octahedron subunits and contain uniform nanosized cavities but exhibit different topological frameworks. Complex 1 demonstrates high adsorption enthalpies for H2 and CO2 gas molecules, stemming principally from the presence of the exposed metal Cu(II) sites on the pore surface. In particular, activated complex 1 shows high efficiency for the separation of energy-correlated molecules, including CO2 over N2 and CH4 under ambient conditions.