This paper reports the synthesis, structure solution, and magnetic characterization of four new DIMMAL-containingcompounds (H
2DIMMAL = 2-di1
H-2-imidazolylmethylmalonic acid), H
2DIMMAL·H
2O (
1), Na
2(DIMMAL)·5H
2O (
2),[Cu(HDIMMAL)
2] (
3), and [Cu
2(DIMMAL)
2(H
2O)
2]·2H
2O (
4). Compound
1, containing two carboxylates and twoprotonated imidazole rings, adopts the dizwitterion configuration. These monohydrate MBBs pack together into a3D array driven, as in the other three cases herein reported, by a combination of multiple-path H-bonds andaromatic-aromatic interactions. Compound
2 consists of centrosymmetric Na
+ tetramers in which four NaO
6 distortedoctahedra are interconnected by carboxylate and water bridges. Compound
3 consists of mononuclear[Cu(HDIMMAL)
2] units in which HDIMMAL
- acts as a tridentate ligand through two imidazole N atoms and thedeprotonated O from a carboxylate. Compound
4 consists of centrosymmetric cyclic dinuclear [Cu
2(DIMMAL)
2(H
2O)
2]·2H
2O units involving propionate-arm bridges. The building-block units described above, in each case, areinterconnected into 3D networks by multiple H-bonding paths and aromatic-aromatic interactions. The EPR spectraare indicative of an essentially d
x2-y2 ground state for the copper(II) ions in
3 and
4 (CuN
4O
2 and CuN
2O
2O'chromophores, respectively). Magnetic susceptibility measurements in the range of 1.8-200 K for compound
4show weak antiferromagnetic exchange between the copper(II) ions (2
J = -1.6(1) cm
-1). The effectiveness of thepropionate-arm bridges, involving C-C
bonds, in propagating magnetic exchange between the copper(II) ions isdiscussed.