Reversible hydrocarbon/perfluorocarbon phase-switching of [Ru(bipy)3]2+ driven by supramolecular heteromeric fluorous carboxylate-carboxylic acid H-bond interactions.

The Ru(bipy)(3) dication is efficiently and reversibly transferred into perfluorocarbons due to the formation of a highly fluorophillic hydrogen-bonded fluorous carboxylate-carboxylic acid counter-anion, whilst retaining key luminescence and photosensitizer characteristics, for example in singlet oxygen production.