Structurally Distinct Metal–Organic and H-Bonded Networks Derived from 5-(6-Carboxypyridin-3-yl)isophthalic Acid: Coordination and Template Effect of 4,4′-Bipyridine

5-(6-Carboxypyridin-3-yl)isophthalic acid (H3L) was utilized as an almost unexplored multifunctional ligand to construct, under hydrothermal conditions, ten new coordination compounds, namely, [Cd(μ2-H2L)2]n (1), [Ni(HL)(H2biim)2] (2), [Mn(μ2-HL) (phen)(H2O)]2·2H2O (3), {[Mn3(μ4-L)2(H2O)6]·3H2O}n (4), {[Co3(μ5-L)2(H2O)6]·2H2O}n (5), {[Ni3(μ4-L)2(H2O)6]·2H2O}n (6), {[Zn3(μ5-L)2(H2O)4]·2H2O}n (7), {[Mn3(μ5-L)2(H2O)6]·4H2O}n (8), {[Co3(μ4-L)2(μ2-4,4′-bipy)(H2O)6]·2H2O}n (9), and {[Ni3(μ5-L)2(H2O)6]·2H2O}n (10), also using an optional auxiliary ligand selected from 2,2′-biimidazole (H2biim), 1,10-phenanthroline (phen), or 4,4′-bipyridine (4,4′-bipy). The obtained compounds 1–10 were analyzed by IR spectroscopy, thermogravimetric and elemental analysis, and single-crystal and powder X-ray diffraction. The structures of the products vary from 3D MOFs (metal–organic frameworks 5 and 7–10) to 2D CPs (coordination polymers 1, 4, and 6) as well as to a discrete 0D monomer 2 and a dimer 3. The latter two are extende...