The asymmetric unit of the title compound, C(8)H(4)Br(2)O(4)·2H(2)O, contains one half-mol-ecule of 2,5-dibromo-terephthalic acid (DBTA) and one water mol-ecule. The DBTA mol-ecule is centrosymmetric. In the crystal structure, inter-molecular O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds link the mol-ecules, forming a three-dimensional framework.

A new thiol-specific reagent introduces a small bis(methylamino)terephthalic acid fluorophore into proteins. The noninvasive probe with distinct spectroscopic properties offers many advantages for protein labeling, purification, and mechanistic work promising to serve as a powerful tool in studies of protein folding and heme redox reactions.

A newly designed terephthalic acid substituted amphiphilic L-glutamide was found to form organogels in DMSO and a broad range of metal ions, from simple Na(+), Li(+) to Cu(2+), Ni(2+), Eu(3+) and Tb(3+), could turn the self-assembled nanostructure into a uniform helical twist.

An organic imidazolium salt of terephthalic acid has been utilized as a linker precursor for the synthesis of an aluminum-based metal organic framework (MOF) with MIL-53(ht) structure. This material shows the predicted porosity in terms of nitrogen and hydrogen sorption without exhibiting the breathing effect typical for MIL-53(Al) materials.