Alkynyl complexes oldie type [M(cydam)(CCR)(2)]-OTf (where cyclam = 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane; M = Rh(III) or Cr(III); and R = phenyl, 4-methylphenyl, 4-trifluoromethylphenyl, 4-fluorophenyl, 1-naphthalenyl, 9-phenanthrenyl, and cyclohexyl) were prepared in 49% to 93% yield using a one-pot synthesis involving the addition of 2 equiv of RCCH and 4 equiv of BuLi to the appropriate [M(cyclam)(OTf)(2)]OTf complex in THF. The cis and trans isomers of the alkynyl complexes were separated using solubility differences, and the stereochemistry was characterized using infrared spectroscopy of the CH2 rocking and NH bending region. All of the trans[M(cyclam)(CCR)(2)]OTf complexes exhibit strong Raman bands between 2071 and 2109 cm I, ascribed to vs(C equivalent to C). The stretching frequencies for the Cr(III) complexes are 21-28 cm(-1) lower than for the analogous Rh(III) complexes, a result that can be interpreted in terms of the alkynyl ligands acting as it-donors. UV-vis spectra of the Cr(III) and Rh(III) complexes are dominated by strong charge transfer (CT) transitions. In the case of the Rh(III) complexes, these CT transitions obscure the metal centered (MC) transitions, but in the case of the Cr(III) complexes the MC transitions are unobscured and appear between 320 and 500 nm, with extinction coefficients (170-700 L mol(-1) cm(-1)) indicative of intensity stealing from the proximal CT bands. The, Cr(III) complexes show long-lived (240-327 mu s), structureless, MC emission centered between 731 and 748 nm in degassed room temperature aqueous solution. Emission characteristics are also consistent with the arylallcynyl ligands acting as pi-donors. The Rh(III) complexes also display long-lived (4-21 mu s), structureless, metal centered emission centered between 524 and 548 nm in degassed room temperature solution (CH3CN).