A terpyridine ligand has been covalently linked to a Ru(bpy)(3) complex via an amide bond. By using this functionalized terpyridine ligand, a series of multinuclear bimetallic complexes have been synthesized and characterized. One of these complexes has the structure of di-mu-oxobridged Mn dimer. EPR spectra of this complex showed that, depending on the procedure for the preparation, the oxidation states of the Mn dimer is either a Mn-2(III,IV) dimer or a mixture of this and Mn-2(IV,IV) dimer. Water oxidation catalyzed by this complex has been performed. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.