A three-component reaction between the 1,4-benzenedicarboxylic (terephthalic) acid (H2bdc), bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)methane (btrm) and zinc nitrate was studied, and three new coordination polymers were isolated by a careful selection of the reaction conditions. Coordination polymers {[Zn3(DMF)(btrm)(bdc)3]·nDMF}∞ and {[Zn3(btrm)(bdc)3]·nDMF}∞ containing trinuclear {Zn3(bdc)3} secondary building units are joined by btrm auxiliary linkers into three-dimensional metal-organic frameworks. The coordination polymer {[Zn(bdc)(btrm)]∙nDMF}∞ consists of Zn2+ cations joined by bdc2- and btrm linkers into a two-fold interpenetrated network. Upon activation, MOF [Zn3(btrm)(bdc)3]∞ demonstrated CO2/N2 adsorption selectivity with an ideal adsorbed solution theory (IAST) factor of 21. All three MOF demonstrated photoluminescence with a maximum near 435-440 nm upon excitation at 330 nm.
Keywords: bis(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)methane; coordination polymers; gas adsorption; gas separation; luminescence; metal–organic frameworks; terephthalic acid.