Two new ditopic ligands, 5,5"-azobis(2,2'-bipyridine) (5,5"-azo) and 5,5"-azoxybis(2,2'-bipyridine) (5,5"-azoxy), were prepared by the reduction of nitro precursors. Mononuclear and dinuclear Ru(II) complexes having one of these bridging ligands and 2,2'-bipyridine terminal ligands were also prepared, and their properties were compared with previously reported Ru(II) complexes having 4,4"-azobis(2,2'-bipyridine) (4,4"-azo). The X-ray crystal structure showed that 5,5"-azo adopts the trans conformation and a planar rodlike shape. The X-ray crystal structure of [(bpy)(2)Ru(5,5"-azo)Ru(bpy)(2)](PF(6))(4) (Ru(5,5"-azo)Ru) showed that the bridging ligand is in the trans conformation and nearly planar also in the complex and the metal-to-metal distance is 10.0 A. The azo or azoxy ligand in these complexes exhibits reduction processes at less negative potentials than the terminal bpy's due to the low-lying pi level. The electronic absorption spectra for the complexes having 5,5"-azo or 5,5"-azoxy exhibit an extended low-energy metal-to-ligand charge-transfer absorption. The ligands, 5,5"-azo and 5,5"-azoxy, and the mononuclear complex, [(bpy)(2)Ru(5,5"-azo)](2+), isomerize reversibly upon light irradiation. The low-energy MLCT state sensitizes the isomerization of the azo moiety in this complex. While [(bpy)(2)Ru(4,4"-azo)Ru(bpy)(2)](PF(6))(4) exhibits light switch properties, namely, significant electrochromism and a large luminescence enhancement, upon reduction, Ru(5,5"-azo)Ru does not show these properties. The radical anion formation upon reduction of these complexes has been confirmed by ESR spectroscopy.

A new ditopic spacer, N-propylisonicotinamidine, has been developed to assemble a ternary supramolecular complex, zinc-tetraphenylporphyrin (ZnTPP)-spacer-acceptor (3,4-dinitrobenzoic acid), via an axial coordination of the spacer to ZnTPP and a salt bridge interaction between the spacer and acceptor. Formation of this ternary complex was probed by 1 H HMR and UV-vis spectroscopy. The ternary complex is formed with an overall association constant of 1.9 × 10 8 M -2 in dichloromethane. The fluorescence is nearly completely quenched by the electron acceptor in the ternary complex as confirmed by the steady-state fluorescence measurements. The triplet excited state of ZnTPP is also quenched by the electron acceptor in the ternary complex. The ternary complex is also formed in acetonitrile, where fluorescence quenching is observed with an intracomplex quenching rate constant of 1.9 × 10 9 s -1 . Photoinduced intracomplex electron transfer is invoked as a likely mechanism of the fluorescence quenching and triplet bleaching.