A new heterogeneous NHC catalyst (1-Pd) was obtained by the post-synthetic modification of an azolium-containing metal-organic framework (1) which was synthesized by solvothermal reaction of 1,3-bis(4-carboxyphenyl)imidazolium chloride (H2L+Cl-) and Zn(NO3)(2)center dot 6H(2)O. This new material, 1-Pd, was characterized by PXRD, TGA, SEM, TEM, H-1 and C-13 NMR, FTIR and XPS measurements. This catalyst exhibited an excellent activity for both Sonogashira cross-coupling and Knoevenagel condensation reaction retaining its catalytic and uniform distribution of the active sites, palladium (II) anchored on N-heterocyclic carbene (NHC-Pd(II)), for at least four cycles without losing its structural integrity. (C) 2016 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.