New coordination polymers, formulated as {[Zn($\mu $-sipH)($\mu $-apim)]$\cdot $3H$_{2}$O} $_{n}$ (1) and {[Cd($\mu $-sip)(H$_{2}$O)$_{2}$ (apimH)]$\cdot $3H$_{2}$O}$_{n}$ (2) were synthesized based on the 1-(3-aminopropyl)imidazole (apim) along with 5-sulfoisophthalate (sip) ligands. The complexes were synthesized under mild hydrothermal conditions. All the complexes were characterized by elemental analysis, FT-IR spectroscopy, and single-crystal X-ray diffraction studies. The X-ray crystallographic studies of 1 and 2 reveal Zn(II) and Cd(II) ions are $\mu $-bridged by dianionic sipH and trianionic sip ligands in bis(monodentate) and bis(bidentate) coordination mode, respectively, to generate 1D polymer chains. In complex 1, the adjacent chains are linked by two apim ligands to form a 1D nanotubular structure. Complex 2 is the first example of a protonated apimH ligand. In the complexes the adjacent 1D chains extend into a 3D supramolecular network by hydrogen bonds. The thermal decomposition behavior and photoluminescent property of the complexes are also discussed herein.