Zr(OPr)4, ZnCl2 or MnCl2 reacted with [HMIM][HSO4] via anion exchange and resulted in the formation of imidazole template sulfates [HMIM]2Zr[SO4]3[DMSO]2 (class="boldFont">1), [HMIM]2Zn[SO4]2 (class="boldFont">2) and [HMIM]2Mn[SO4]2 (class="boldFont">3), respectively.
Cu(OAc)2 interacted with imidazole to form imidazole-Cu complex [MIM]4Cu[HSO4]2 (class="boldFont">4).
The imidazole template sulfates present various crystal structures, in which [HMIM]2Zr[SO4]3[DMSO]2 (class="boldFont">1) has zero-dimensional monomeric structure made up of [Zr(SO4)3(DMSO)2]2− anions and [HMIM]+ cations. While, [HMIM]2Zn[SO4]2 (class="boldFont">2) and [HMIM]2Mn[SO4]2 (class="boldFont">3) exhibit one-dimensional metal–organic framework which consist of infinite linear chains linked by SO4 units.