A novel imidazole derivative, 1-[trans-4-(4-diethylaminostyryl) phenyl] imidazole (abbreviated as L), and its complex Zn (SCN) 2L2 have been synthesized and fully characterized. Their crystal structures have been determined by X-ray diffraction. The molecular structure of L is approximately coplanar, the bond lengths of C–C and C–N are located between the normal double and single bonds, which show that L has a ...