Distinct packings of supramolecular building blocks in metal-organic frameworks based on imidazoledicarboxylic acid

When the supramolecular building block packings (face-centered, body-centered, and primitive cubic) with different interactions (hydrogen and coordination bonding) were controlled, four new structures based on octahedral MII (M = Zn, Ni, Mn) and imidazoledicarboxylate were constructed. The interaction modes between the supramolecular building blocks affect the water stability of the structures. Furthermore, with uncoordinated carboxylate O atoms in the structures, these compounds demonstrate a strong capability of capturing metal ions in the solution.