A new two-dimensional cadmium(II) coordination polymer based on Cd6(CHADC)6 clusters (H2CHADC is cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid): synthesis, structure and properties.

The highly effective recognition and detection of metal ions and anions in water has attracted much attention with respect to environmental safety. Herein, a novel Cd-based coordination polymer, poly[[4,4'-bis(2-methylimidazol-1-yl)biphenyl]bis(cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylato)dicadmium(II)], [Cd2(C8H10O4)2(C20H18N4)]n or [Cd(CHADC)(4,4'-BMIBP)0.5]n, (I), has been synthesized employing cis-cyclohexane-1,2-dicarboxylic acid (H2CHADC) and 4,4'-bis(2-methyl-1H-imidazol-1-yl)biphenyl (4,4'-BMIBP). Single-crystal X-ray analysis reveals that (I) presents a 6-connected hxl two-dimensional layer based on Cd6(CHADC)6 clusters with the point symbol (36·46·53). Furthermore, (I) has been characterized by elemental analysis, IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis and fluorescence spectroscopy, and exhibits good stability and excellent photoluminescence properties. Coordination polymer (I) was chosen as a fluorescent probe to sense different target analytes and shows an obvious selective recognition response to Fe3+ cations and Cr2O72-/CrO42- anions through luminescence-quenching effects in aqueous solution. The sensing mechanism was investigated and showed that the detection mechanism was resonance energy transfer between (I) and the Fe3+, Cr2O72- and CrO42- ions.