Three new solvent-directed 3D lead(ii)-MOFs displaying the unique properties of luminescence and selective CO2 sorptionElectronic supplementary information (ESI) available: Crystallographic data, fitted curve of emission lifetime, selected bond lengths and angles, PXRD, FTIR, pore size distribution, and calculation on CO2 selectivity and enthalpies. CCDC 930089-930091. For ESI and crystallographic data in CIF or other electronic format see DOI: 10.1039/c3dt51203g

Three new solvent-directed three-dimensional (3D) lead( ii ) coordination polymers, [Pb 2 (L) 2 ] n ( 1 ), [Pb 3 (L) 3 ] n ( 2 ) and [Pb(L)]·H 2 O ( 3 ) [H 3 L = 2-(pyridine-2-yl)-1 H -imidazole-4,5-dicarboxylic acid], have been synthesized solvothermally. As influenced by different solvent systems, compounds 1 and 3 exhibit varying architectures from a multi-nodal 3,3,4,4-connected to a uninodal 3-connected net, while 2 with helices represents a binodal 3,4-connected topological net. Moreover, 3 possesses a micropore which is decorated with pyridyl systems and uncoordinated carboxylate oxygen atoms. In addition, the small-sized and highly polar pores enable 3 to attract CO 2 strongly, leading to a high sorption heat for CO 2 and significant selectivity for CO 2 over H 2 and N 2 at 293 K. The luminescent behaviors and emissive lifetimes of 1-3 are also discussed. We report three new solvent-directed 3D lead( ii )-MOFs displaying the unique properties of luminescence and selective CO 2 sorption.