This dissertation, "Design, Synthesis and Functionalization of Luminescent Alkynylplatinum(II) Complexes of Tridentate N-donor Ligands as Building Blocks for Metallofoldamers, Supramolecular Assemblies and Nanostructures" by Yu-lut, Leung, 梁宇律, was obtained from The University of Hong Kong (Pokfulam, Hong Kong) and is being sold pursuant to Creative Commons: Attribution 3.0 Hong Kong License. The content of this dissertation has not been altered in any way. We have altered the formatting in order to facilitate the ease of printing and reading of the dissertation. All rights not granted by the above license are retained by the author. Abstract: Abstract of thesis entitled DESIGN, SYNTHESIS AND FUNCTIONALIZATION OF LUMINESCENT ALKYNYLPLATINUM(II) COMPLEXES OF TRIDENTATE N-DONOR LIGANDS AS BUILDING BLOCKS FOR METALLOFOLDAMERS, SUPRAMOLECULAR ASSEMBLIES AND NANOSTRUCTURES submitted by LEUNG Yu Lut Sammual for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at The University of Hong Kong in August 2013 A series of dinuclear platinum(II)-containing meta-phenylene ethynylene (mPE) oligomers and binaphthol derivatives of various lengths, end-capped with symmetric or unsymmetric platinum(II) terpyridine units has been synthesized and characterized. In addition, a mononuclear complex with five repeating mPE units has also been synthesized for comparison studies. Dinuclear alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridine complexes with the optimum length of meta-phenylene ethynylene (mPE) units and the binaphthol derivatives have been found to exhibit a strong tendency to fold back onto themselves to form short helical strands through the stabilization of Pt---Pt and  interactions. The steric bulk of the terpyridine ligands and the length of the oligomeric bridge have been found to affect the extent of the intramolecular Pt---Pt interaction that governs the i stabilization of the short helical strand in solution. Their folding properties via Pt---Pt and  stacking interactions have been studied by H NMR, 2D ROESY NMR, electronic absorption, circular dichroism and emission spectroscopies. A series of dinuclear alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridine complexes bridged by the amphiphilic binaphthol backbone bearing two triethylene glycol monomethyl ether (TEG) chains has been synthesized and characterized. Particularly, one of the complexes with the optimum length of the binaphthol derivative has been shown to undergo transverse aggregation arising from the intra- and intermolecular Pt---Pt and  stacking interactions in aqueous solutions. Such hierarchical assembly of helical strands into tubular columns has been studied by electronic absorption, circular dichroism, and emission spectroscopies, as well as electron microscopies. On the other hand, a series of dinuclear alkynylplatinum(II) terpyridine complexes based on the amphiphilic oligo(para-phenylene ethynylene) (OPE) moiety has been synthesized and characterized. Some of the complexes have been shown to self-assemble into various nanostructures from helical fibers to nanotubes, which have been observed in electron microscopies. The supramolecular polymerization process that occurs through non- covalent Pt---Pt and  stacking interactions during self-assembly has also been studied by the NMR and UV-vis absorption spectroscopies. A series of alkynylplatinum(II) complexes with a tridentate pyridine-based N- heterocyclic carbene 2,6-bis(1-butylimidazol-2-ylidenyl)pyridine) ligand, II [Pt (C DEGREESN DEGREESC)(CCR)](PF ), and their chloroplatinum(II) precursor complex, II [Pt (C DEGREESN DEGREESC)Cl)](PF ) have been synthesized and characterized. One of the alkynylplatinum(II) complexes has also been structurally characterized by X-ray ii crystallography. Their electrochemistry, electronic absorption and luminescence properties have been studied. Nanosecond transient absorption (TA) spectroscopy has also been performed to probe the nature of the excited state.