Perfluorophenyl-terpyridine ruthenium complex as monomer for fast, efficient, and mild metallopolymerizations.

Herein, the new concept of thiol-para-fluorine "click" chemistry is employed for the formation of ruthenium(II) bisterpyridine metallopolymers in a fast and efficient manner. In general, the assembly of comparable metallopolymers requires high temperatures and long reaction times. In contrast to established methods, when utilizing a pentafluorophenyl-substituted homoleptic Ru(II) bisterpyridine complex, as a monomer, thiol-functionalized organic spacer units can easily be introduced at low temperatures and in very short reaction times. Furthermore, alternating arrangements of different metal ions (e.g., Ru(II) and Fe(II)) in metallopolymers can be achieved.