The thermodynamics of ligand photorelease from Ru(II)bis(2,2′-bipyridine)(6,6′-dimethyl-2,2′-bipyridine) ([Ru(bpy)2(dmbpy)]2+) complex in aqueous solution have been examined using photoacoustic calorimetry (PAC). Photolysis of the [Ru(bpy)2(dmbpy)]2+ complex with a ∼5 ns laser pulse (FWHM) results in enthalpy changes of 42 ± 4 kcal mol−1, with a corresponding volume change of 6 ± 1 mL mol−1. Density functional theory calculations also demonstrate that the positive enthalpy values arise from N σ-donation to the Ru ion. It is noted that the LUMO-Ligand Field gap fails to track with photoaquation quantum yield.