Six isoreticular metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) based on zinc, cadmium and cobalt ions, 4,4′-stilbenedicarboxylic acid and the flexible ligands 1,4-bis(imidazol-1-yl)butane and 1,6-bis(imidazol-1-yl)hexane were prepared. The synergistic effect coming from the assembly of stilbenedicarboxylate and imidazolyl ligands led to multifunctional materials with excellent photoluminescence and good sorption capacity for carbon dioxide and iodine vapor.