The reaction of 4,5-bis(2'-cyano-ethylsulfanyl)-4',5'-dipropylthiotetrathiafulvalene with [Pt(phen)Cl₂] (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline) with CsOH as base in CH₃OH–THF affords the target complex 1 in 44% yield. This complex crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P2₁/c, M = 790.01, a = 12.1732(12), b = 15.851(2), c = 14.5371(16) Ã…, b = 107.693(12)Ëš, V = 2672.4(5) Ã…³ and Z = 4. It undergoes two reversible single-electron oxidation and two irreversible reduction processes. An intense electronic absorption band at 15200 cm^-1 (658 nm) in CH₂Cl₂ is assigned to the intramolecular mixed metal/ligand-to-ligand charge transfer (LLCT) from a tetrathiafulvalene-extended dithiolate-based HOMO to a phenanthroline-based LUMO. This band shifts hypsochromically with increasing solvent polarity. Systematic changes in the optical spectra upon oxidation allow precise tuning of the oxidation states of 1 and reversible control over its optical properties. Irradiation of 1 at 15625 cm^-1 (640 nm) in glassy solution below 150 K results in emission from the ³LLCT excited state.

In supramolecular systems, the interaction between different units modulates their photophysical properties. a) For platinum(II) complexes with ligands that have extended π systems, π-stacking and direct metal-metal interactions result in the formation of excimers with characteristically red-shifted luminescence. Time-resolved emission spectra show clear evidence of dual luminescence. b) In phthalocyanines to which electron-donating tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) groups have been fused, the luminescence is strongly quenched by intramolecular electron transfer. The luminescence can be switched on by oxidation of the TTF groups. c) The luminescence of ruthenium tris-bipyridyl derivatives is strongly influenced by the environment. Linked to biotin, the luminescence quantum yield of such a complex is enhanced by 30 % upon binding to avidin. Furthermore, the binding to avidin induces a circular-dichroism signal from the π-π* transition of the initially racemic ruthenium tris-bipyridyl derivative.

To bring evidence for or against the hypothesis of catalytic hydrogenation by intact trinuclear arene ruthenium clusters containing an oxo cap, cationic Ru₃O clusters with three different arene ligands (intrinsically chiral tetrahedra) have been synthesized as racemic mixtures. By introduction of a chiral auxiliary substituent at one of the three different arene ligands, the separation of the two diastereomers was possible. The chiral Ru₃O framework was evidenced by X-ray crystallography, by circular dichroism in the UV and IR regions, and by chiral shift reagents in the NMR spectra. The catalytic hydrogenation of the prochiral substrate methyl 2-acetamidoacrylate using a chiral Ru₃O cluster showed no asymmetric induction, suggesting that the catalytically active species is not the intact Ru₃O cluster.

The synthesis of tetrakis(tetrathiafulvalene)-annulated metal-free and metallophthalocyanines 5−8 via the tetramerization of the phthalonitrile derivative 4 is reported. All of them have been fully characterized by electronic absorption spectroscopy, thin-layer cyclic voltammetry, mass spectrometry, and elemental analysis. Their solution electrochemical data show two reversible four-electron oxidation waves, indicating that these fused systems are strong π-electron donors, which give rise to tetra- or octaradical cation species. For the metal-free phthalocyanine 5, additionally a reversible one-electron wave was found in the negative direction arising from the reduction of the macrocycle. Moreover, the tetrathiafulvalene unit acts as an efficient reductive electron-transfer quencher for the phthalocyanine emission, but upon its oxidation, an intense luminescence is switched on.