Reactions of the bis((pyridine-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazol-5-yl)methane (H2L) with Zn(NO3)2·6H2O and ZnCl2 conditions afforded three new Zn(II) complexes, namely, {[Zn3L′2(H2O)6]·2NO3} (1), [Zn4L2Cl4(H2O)2] (2) and [Zn6L4(CH3OH)4(NO3)4] (3). Notably in 1, the methylene group in L was in situ oxidized to a rigid ketone group in L′ (here, H2L′ = bis((pyridine-2-yl)-1,2,4-triazol-5-yl)ketone). The three Zn(II) complexes were synthesized under solvothermal conditions and characterized by techniques of Elemental analysis, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, Powder X-ray diffraction and single-crystal X-ray diffraction analysis. In addition, the thermogravimetric properties and the luminescent properties of 1–3 were investigated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]