Two luminescent polypyridyl Ru II complexes including dipyridin-2-ylamine (dpa) ligands functionalized by a maleimide group, namely [Ru(bpy) 2 (1a-b)](PF 6 ) 2 (bpy = 2,2Ј-bipyridyl;, were synthesized, and the X-ray structure of [Ru(bpy) 2 -(1b)](PF 6 ) 2 was solved. The photophysical properties of these complexes and the starting dipyridin-2-ylamine ligands were studied. Upon excitation at their maximum of absorption, the dpa ligands exhibited weak luminescence because of quenching by the maleimide group. Conversely, the complexes displayed noticeable luminescence, with an emission