© 2014 Elsevier B.V. Electrochemiluminescent films have been formed by electrodepositing polyaniline, PANI, in the presence of [Ru(bpy)2PIC]2 +; bpy is 2,2′-bipyridyl and PIC is (2,2′-bipyridyl)-2(4-carboxylphenyl) imidazo [4,5][1,10] phenanthroline. The homogeneous charge transport diffusion coefficient, DCT, for the Ru2 +/3 +couple within the PANI film is 2.6 ± 0.9 × 10- 10cm2s- 1. The large DCTfacilitates a fast regeneration of Ru3 +and, coupled to a relatively rigid microenvironment, results in a high ECL intensity in the presence of tripropylamine as a co-reactant compared to [Ru(bpy)3]2 +. Significantly, despite the conducting nature of the polymer backbone, the [Ru(bpy)2PIC]2 +loaded PANI has the highest efficiency, 1.00%, yet reported for a surface confined ruthenium complex.