As a result of hydrothermal synthesis of 2,5-furandicarboxylate (fdc2−), Cd(II) ion and bis(imidazole) derivative 1,4-bis(1H-imidazole-1-yl)butane (bib) ligand, a novel two-dimensional Cd(II) coordination polymer {[Cd(µ-fdc)(H2O)(µ-bib)]·H2O}n (1) was synthesized. According to the results of single crystal X-ray diffraction analysis, the complex was crystallized in the monoclinic system and in the P21/n space group. In addition, the thermal, luminescence and optical properties of the complex were investigated. The complex emits a maximum at 509 nm and also shows semi-conductor properties according to the solid-state UV–Vis diffuse reflection spectra results. To determine chemical structure, vibrational properties and some chemical properties of complex, theoretical calculations were carried out. All theoretical computations were performed using the DFT method at the B3LYP/LanL2DZ level of theory. The obtained experimental results were in good agreement with theoretical results. To calculate HOMO–LUMO energy values, which provided insights into the material's electronic properties, DFT calculations were used. Detailed information about the local and global chemical activity, as well as the electrophilic and nucleophilic nature of the complex, were also obtained.