The photochemical behavior of [Ru(NO)(NO)
2pc] (pc = phthalocyanine) is reported in this paper. In addition to ligand localized absorption bands (
λ < 300 nm), the electronic spectrum of this complex in dichloromethane solution was dominated by an intense absorption at 640 nm characterized as Q-bands. Irradiation of [Ru(NO)(NO)
2pc] at 366 and 660 nm led to the production of nitric oxide (NO) as detected by a NO-sensor. NO production by light irradiation at high energy involved excitation of
dπ–π* transition, while a photoinduced electron transfer occurred at long wavelength irradiation. The NO quantum yields varied from 1.4 × 10
−3 to 2.3 × 10
−2 mol einstein
−1, depending on oxygen concentration.