a b s t r a c tThe thermal reaction of Ru 3 (CO) 12 with various carboxylic acids (benzoic, 4-hydroxyphenylacetic, ferrocenic, stearic, oleic, 4-(octadecyloxy)benzoic) in refluxing tetrahydrofuran, followed by addition of 5-(4-pyridyl)-10,15,20-triphenylporphyrin (L), gives the dinuclear complexes Ru 2 (CO) 4 (OOCR) 2 L 2 (1: R = -C 6 H 5 , 2: R = -CH 2 -p-C 6 H 4 OH, 3: R = -C 5 H 4 FeC 5 H 5 , 4: R = -(CH 2 ) 16 CH 3 , 5: R = -(CH 2 ) 7 CH@CH(CH 2 ) 7 CH 3 , 6: R = -p-C 6 H 4 O(CH 2 ) 17 CH 3 ). Complexes 1-6 were characterised by IR, NMR, and ESI-MS as well as by elemental analysis. The UV-Vis spectra show the Soret band centred at 417 nm and the Q bands at 515, 550, 590 and 645 nm, respectively.