(Triptycenedicarboxylato)zinc metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) based on paddle wheel secondary building units (SBUs) with different axial ligands have been prepared. The reproducible formation of the layered paddle-wheel structures from triptycenedicarboxylic acid (H(2)TDC) and zinc nitrate under various conditions seems to be characteristic of this acid and is utilized for the construction of 3D frameworks by a pillaring approach. We attempted to bring additional functionalities into MOFs by employing the appropriate pillaring ligands, for example, bis(4-pyridyl)-s-tetrazine and bis(4-pyridyl)-dimethoxy-p-phenylenedivinylene, and investigated certain properties of some MOF materials, such as guest-exchange behavior, luminescence, microporosity, and stability.