Using the reactions of terminal alkynyl derivatives of 2,2':6',2"-terpyridine (tpy) or 2,2'-bipyridine (bpy) with R3PAuCl or related di- or trigold(I) derivatives, we will develop a suite of ligands and will investigate their photophysical properties and the dependence of the latter on variation of alkyl and aryl spacers within the ligands. Luminescence switching is predicted by changes in, for example, the bpy ligand conformation brought about by metal binding.