Dinuclear transition-metal terpyridine complexes with a dithienylcyclo- pentene bridge directed toward molecular electronic applications.

A series of dinuclear metal terpyridine (M-tpy; M = Ru, Os, Fe, and Co) complexes with a photochromic dithienylethene bridge were designed and synthesized through either a convergent or a divergent approach. The open forms of the complexes containing RuII and FeII centers were found to be inert to ultraviolet photoirradiation but could be cyclized electrochemically as revealed by a cyclic voltammetric study. On the contrary, the CoII complex underwent efficient photochemical but not electrochemical cyclization. The corresponding OsII complex was neither photochromic nor electrochromic.