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Phenylene spacers connect the Ru(tpy)(sub 2)(super 2+) complex, where tpy is 2,2':6', 2'-terpyridine, and Os(tpy)(sub 2)(super 2+) binding blocks to produce rigid rod-like Ru(II)/Os(II) terpyridine-type complexes. The two building units exhibit slightly different absorption spectra in the dinuclear compounds. Electrochemical measurements of redox potentials reveal metal-metal and ligand-ligand interactions. Time-resolved luminescence spectroscopic analysis of energy transfer reactions shows that electron exchange through the phenylene linker facilitates energy transfer from the Ru-unit to the Os-unit.

The energy transfer in a rodlike dinuclear complex, (ttp)Ru(tpy-ph-bco-ph-tpy)Os(ttp)4+ (RuOs) was found to be unaffected both by temperature and state of the solvent. In this species, the coordination environment of both metals is composed of tpy-type tridentate ligands and the spacer is a ph-bco-ph fragment. The complex has a rigid, linear geometry and the metal-to-metal distance is fixed at 2.4 nm.