Attempts to obtain gels starting directly from the Pt(II) species failed due to the insolubility of complex 1, which does not dissolve even after thermal treatment or sonication. Thus, using conventional methods such as varying temperature, concentration, and solvent/non-solvent ratios 10 resulted in the precipitation of complex 1 as an amorphous powder. These observations suggest that the gel is a metastable kinetic state accessible exclusively through the in situ chemical reduction of complex 2.