A supramolecular organic framework with ant topology featuring interdigitation and interpenetration

H₄BOPTC reacts with IMI to yield a supramolecular organic framework, formulated as [IMIH⁺]₂√[H₂BOPTC^2 − ]√0.5H₂O (1) (IMI = imidazole, H₄BOPTC = benzophenone-3,3′,4,4′-tetracarboxylic acid). Single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis reveals that 1 shows a novel architecture with two-level hierarchical entanglement. H₂BOPTC^2 −  connects to IMIH⁺ through hydrogen bonds, providing 1D ribbon. The basic ribbons are entangled into a 3D net with ant topology. Then the ant nets further interpenetrate to give the final entangled framework. The thermal stability, optical band gap energy and photoluminescent property of 1 have also been investigated.