Synthesis of thiophene subtituted ruthenium and rhenium bipyridyl complexes.

3-Alkyl thiophenes may be conveniently polymerised by chemical or electrochemical means and further processed to provide electroactive polymers. Here we describe a versatile synthetic strategy that provides thiophene-metal complexes with potential use in the fields of redox active polymers and in electroluminescent devices. The electrochemical behavior of two complexes is established and is reported.