The design and synthesis of functional coordination polymers is motivated not only by their structural beauty but also by their potential applications. Zn-II and Cd-II coordination polymers are promising candidates for producing photoactive materials because these d(10) metal ions not only possess a variety of coordination numbers and geometries, but also exhibit luminescence properties when bound to functional ligands. It is difficult to predict the final structure of such polymers because the assembly process is influenced by many subtle factors. Bis(imidazol-1-yl)-substituted alkane/benzene...