Deciphering the Structural Relationships of Five Cd-Based Metal-Organic Frameworks.

The one-pot reaction of Cd(NO3)2·4H2O and 5-(6-(hydroxymethyl)pyridin-3-yl)isophthalic acid (H2L) in DMF/H2O (DMF = N,N-dimethylformamide) produced a two-dimensional (2D) metal-organic framework (MOF) of [Cd(L)(H2O)2] (A) bearing aqua-bridged Cd centers, accompanied by two three-dimensional (3D) MOFs [Cd(L)(DMF)0.5] (B) and [Cd(L)] (C). Removing the bridging aqua molecules of A by heating led to the formation of an additional 3D MOF of [Cd(L)] (D) in a single-crystal to single-crystal (SCSC) manner. The search for the preceding compound that could convert to A resulted in the isolation of a 2D MOF [Cd(L)(DMF)] (E) that readily converted to A in water, but with the loss of single crystallinity. Upon excitation at 350 nm, A, D, E, and the ligand H2L fluoresced at 460 nm, 468 nm, 475 nm, and 411 nm, respectively. The fluorescence of A could be used for the selective detection of Fe3+ in water down to 0.58 ppm. This quenching was not affected by the presence of other common metal ions.