The metal complexes can be influenced not only by the central metal atoms and the substituent groups, but also by the native of the chelating atoms. For example, near-infrared absorbing chromophores were synthesized by the reaction of phenylenediamine derivatives with a solution of pottassium hydroxide followed by the addition of nickel(II) chloride. These dyes provide absorbing infrared light over 780-840 nm with an extinction coefficient of $2.5-6.0{\times}10^4$. By introduction of alkyl, alkoxyl, cyano, and other functional group into the parent dye, these dyes greatly improved the solubility in organic solvent. New near-infrared absorbing donor-acceptor chromophores have been investigated by varying the electron donating and accepting strength of the two halves of the molecule. The cyanine chromophores permit the simplest way of obtaining systems that absorb well into the near-infrared region of the spectrum. Cyanine dyes possess high extinction coefficients that initially increase with Increasing chain length. These chromophores could be useful in near-infrared optical materials.