Poly[[(μ2-benzene-1,3-di-carboxyl-ato){μ2-1,4-bis-[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)meth-yl]benzene}-cadmium] di-methyl-formamide monosolvate].

The title coordination polymer, {[Cd(C8H4O4)(C14H14N4)]·C3H7NO} n , was synthesized by solvothermal reaction of metallic cadmium with the semi-rigid neutral ligand 1,4-bis-[(1H-imidazol-1-yl)meth-yl]benzene (bix) and the V-shaped benzene-1,3-di-carb-oxy-lic acid (m-H2bdc). The structure exhibits a pseudo-C-centring which is almost fulfilled by the polymeric metal complex but not by the solvent dimethylform-amide (DMF) mol-ecules. The asymmetric unit contains two independent Cd(II) ions, two m-bdc(2-) ligands, one and two half bix ligands, and two solvent DMF mol-ecules. The Cd(II) ions are both five-coordinated by three O atoms from two different m-bdc(2-) ligands and two N atoms from two different bix ligands in a distorted square-pyramidal geometry. The m-bdc(2-) ligands adopt a chelate-monodentate coordination mode, connecting neighboring Cd(II) ions into a zigzag chain parallel to [110]. Adjacent chains are further cross-linked by bix ligands, giving rise to a puckered sheet nearly perpendicular to the chain direction. Thus, each Cd(II) ion is connected to four neighboring Cd(II) ions through two m-bdc(2-) anions and two bix ligands, giving rise to the final non-inter-penetrating uninodal layer with sql (4,4) topology.