The Fe3+ ion is the most important element in environmental systems and plays a fundamental role in biological processes. Iron deficiency can result in diseases and highly selective and sensitive detection of trace Fe3+ has become a hot topic. A novel two-dimensional ZnII coordination framework, poly[[μ-4,4'-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-yl)diphenyl ether-κ2N3:N3'](μ-4,4'-sulfonyldibenzoato-κ2O:O')zinc(II)], [Zn(C14H8O6S)(C20H18N4O)]n or [Zn(SDBA)(BMIOPE)]n, (I), where H2SDBA is 4,4'-sulfonyldibenzoic acid and BMIOPE is 4,4'-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-yl)diphenyl ether, has been prepared and characterized by IR, elemental analysis, thermal analysis and X-ray diffraction analysis, the latter showing that the coordination polymer exhibits a threefold interpenetrating two-dimensional 44-sql network. In addition, it displays a highly selective and sensitive sensing for Fe3+ ions in aqueous solution.
Keywords: 4,4′-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-yl)diphenyl ether; 4,4′-sulfonyldibenzoic acid; crystal structure; iron deficiency; iron(III); iron(III) sensing; luminescence sensing; threefold interpenetration; two-dimensional coordination polymer; zinc(II).