There has been much recent interest in the photochemistry and photophysics of transition metal polypyridine complexes due to the possibility of their use in solar energy conversion systems. The excited state of these compounds are known to undergo useful electron transfer and energy transfer reactions. This work attempts to elucidate the mechanism of the quenching of *CrL{sub 3}{sup 3+} (where L = 2,2{prime}-bipyridine, 4,4{prime}-dimethyl-2,2{prime}-bipyridine, 1,10-phenanthroline, 5-chloro-1,10-phenanthroline, 5-methyl-1,10-phenanthroline) by oxalate ions in neutral pH. Evidence suggests an ion-pairing pre-equilibrium followed by rate limiting electron transfer to produce CrL{sub 3}{sup 2+} and CO{sub 2}{sup {minus}} can then react with ground state chromium(III) species to produce another mole of the reduced product or it can produce a secondary transient as in the case of phenanthroline and substituted phenanthroline complexes. The secondary transient reacts to produce CrL{sub 3}{sup 2+} in a subsequent reaction. 85 refs., 24 figs., 7 tabs.