A photoactive metal-organic complex[Zn2(BCbpe)2(p-DBC)2].5H2O(1) has been synthesized based on an olefin-containing pyridinium compound,1-(4-carboxybenzyl)-4-[2-(4-pyridyl)-vinyl]pyridinium chloride(HBCbpeCl),and characterized by single-crystal X-ray diffraction,IR spectroscopy,powder X-ray diffraction and thermogravimetric analysis,respectively.In the solid state,the BCbpe ligands are packed in a head-to-tail manner through weak cation-π interaction,undergoing a photo-induced cycloaddition quantitatively upon UV-light irradiation.