Polyrotaxane-like and Interpenetrating Metal-Organic Frameworks (MOFs) Constructed from Biphenyl-4,4′-Dicarboxylate and Bis(imidazole) Ligand

The paper presents three interesting entanglement systems, including two polyrotaxane-like and one interpene-trating frameworks, namely, [Co(L-1)(bpdc)] (1), [Co(L-2)(bpdc)] (2), and [Co(L-3)1.5(bpdc)(H2O)]center dot(L-3) (3), constructed from biphenyl-4,4'-dicarboxylate and bis(imidazole) ligands (L-1 = 1,6-bis(imidazol-1-yl)-hexane, and rods that are interlaced in a parallel fashion to result in 2D -> 2D polyrotaxane-like motifs (L-2 = 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-ylmethyl)benzene and L-3 = 1,4-bis(1-imidazolyl)-benzene)). Both compounds 1 and 2 contain loops. Compound 3 represents the first example of a triply interpenetrated 5-connected 4(4) 6(6) topology network.