In this work silica gels have been prepared by a sol-gel method using tetraethylorthosilicate as gel precursor. The tetraruthenated porphyrins H-2(3-TRPyP), Co(3-TRPyP), and H-2(4-TRPyP) were incorporated into the systems during gel formation without problems commonly found in the process, such as aggregation. Spectroscopic studies of the resulting silica gels revealed the presence of absorption bands in the range 200-400 nm associated with the transitions of the groups ruthenium-bipyridiiie, along with the Soret band at the same wavelengths observed in solution. The porphyrins were found to preserve fluorescence emission properties in the range 650-700 nm even after the aging period. Study of the thermal behavior and decomposition kinetics evidenced that the porphyrin H2(4-TRPyP) is the least stable of the group and that all compounds decompose according to first-order kinetics. (c) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.