The reductive co-electropolymerization of vinyl-substituted ruthenium complexes 2(PF6) and 3(PF6)(2) at ITO glass electrodes have afforded adherent metallopolymeric films, where complex 2(PF6) contains a dipicolylamine (DPA) unit as the ion recognition site and 3(PF6)(2) is a ruthenium monomer without DPA. The resulting thin films can selectively detect Cu2+ at the solid-liquid interface on the basis of color, absorption, and electrochemical changes. By using EDTA to remove the incorporated Cu2+, the polymeric film can repeatedly detect Cu2+ with good reversibility and film stability, as supported by XPS and TEM analyses. (C) 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.