The photophysical and photochemical properties of (OC-6-33)-(2,2'-bipyridine-kN 1 ,kN 1 ')tricarbonyl(9,10-dihydro-9,10-dioxoanthracene-2-carboxylato-kO)rhenium (fac-[Re I (aq-2-CO 2 )(2,2'-bipy)(CO) 3 ]) were investigated and compared to those of the free ligand 9,10-dihydro-9,10-dioxoanthracene-2-carboxylate ( anthraquinone-2-carboxylate) and other carboxylato complexes containing the (2,2'-bipyridine)tricarbonylrhenium ([Re(2,2'-bipy)(CO) 3 ]) moiety. Flash and steady-state irradiations of the anthraquinone-derived ligand (l exc 337 or 351 nm) and of its complex reveal that the photophysics of the latter is dominated by processes initiated in the Re-to-(2,2'-bipyridine) charge-transfer excited state and 2,2'-bipyridine-and (anthraquinone-2-carboxylato)-centered intraligand excited states. In the reductive quenching by N,Ndiethylethanamine (TEA) or 2,2',2''-nitrilotris[ethanol] TEOA, the reactive states are the 2,2'-bipyridinecentered and/or the charge-transfer excited states. The species with a reduced anthraquinone moiety is formed by the following intramolecular electron transfer, after the redox quenching of the excited state:The photophysics, particularly the absence of a Re I -to-anthraquinone charge-transfer excited state photochemistry, is discussed in terms of the electrochemical and photochemical results.Introduction. ± The substitution of a halide ligand X by the spectator ligand L S in [Re I XL A (CO) 3 ], where L A is a bis(monodentated azine) or a bidentate azine 1 ), has provided useful procedures for the preparation of related [Re I L S L A (CO) 3 ] complexes [1 ± 7]. Interest in the properties that L S imposes on the ÀRe I L A (CO) 3 moiety is brought about by possible applications of the Re complexes to biochemical processes [8 ± 11] and to CO 2 reduction [12]. Also, the derivatization of polymers with chromophores, e.g., with pendant ÀRe I L A (CO) 3 groups [13] has prompted investigation of the role of L S in the reactivity of some Re I monomers [14]. Literature reports show, for example, that the function of L S is to exert small perturbations that alter the electronic structure of the chromophore and modify its photophysics [6]. In the other extreme of a strong electronic interaction between L S and the Re I chromophore, the spectator ligand can participate in redox processes similar to those of L A . Indeed, competitive electron transfer to L A and L S has been observed in the ground and excited