Thermolysis of the P-coordinated KITPHOS monophosphine complex [(p-cymene)RuCl2(KITPHOS)] in chlorobenzene at 120 °C resulted in displacement of the p-cymene to afford [{κ(P)-η6-KITPHOS}RuCl2], the first example of a constrained-geometry complex in which the κ(P)-bonded diphenylphosphino group and the η6-coordinated proximal phenyl ring are connected by an unsaturated two-carbon tether; both complexes form efficient catalysts for the direct ortho arylation of 2-phenylpyridine and N-phenylpyrazole with a range of aryl chlorides.

Electrophilic gold(I) complexes of diphenyl-and dicyclohexylphosphino-based KITPHOS monophosphines catalyze the 5-exo-dig cycloisomerization of a range of propargyl amides to afford the corresponding alkylidene oxazolines; in all cases catalysts formed from diphenylphosphino-substituted KITPHOS monophosphines outperformed their dicyclohexylphosphino counterparts as well as that based on triphenylphosphine, an indication that the biaryl/biaryl-like framework may be responsible for imparting high catalyst efficiency.

A comparative study of the carbonyl-ene reaction between a range of 1,1'-disubstituted or trisubstituted alkenes and ethyl trifluoropyruvate catalyzed by Lewis acid-platinum group metal complexes of the type [M{(R)-BINAP}]2+ (M = Pt, Pd, Ni; BINAP is 2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl) revealed subtle but significant differences in their reactivity. For instance, the palladium-based Lewis acid [Pd{(R)-BINAP}]2+ catalyzes the ene reaction between methylene cycloalkane to afford the expected alpha-hydroxy ester in good yield and excellent diastereo- and enantioselectivity. In contrast, under the same conditions, the corresponding [M{(R)-BINAP}]2+ (M = Pt, Ni) catalyzes isomerization of methylene cycloalkane and the ene reaction of the resulting mixture of methylene cycloalkane and 1-methylcycloalkene at similar rates to afford a range of -hydroxy esters in high regioselectivity, good diastereoselectivity, and good to excellent enantioselectivity. In addition, [Pt{(R)-BINAP}]2+ also catalyzes postreaction isomerization of the ene product as well as consecutive ene reactions to afford a double carbonyl-ene product. The sense of asymmetric induction has been established by single-crystal X-ray crystallography, and a stereochemical model consistent with the formation of (S)-configured -hydroxy ester has been proposed; the same model also accounts for the observed exo-diastereoselectivity as well as the level of diastereoselectivity.

Rhodium-catalyzed double [2 + 2 + 2] cycloaddition of 1,4-bis(diphenylphosphinoyl)buta-1,3-diyne with tethered diynes provides a straightforward, single-pot procedure for the synthesis of a new class of tropos biaryl diphosphine, NU-BIPHEP. This methodology represents a significant improvement on existing multistep procedures. Enantiopure Lewis acid platinum complexes of these diphosphines are highly efficient catalysts for carbonyl-ene and Diels-Alder reactions, and ruthenium diphosphine-diamine complexes catalyze the asymmetric reduction of ketones to give ee's that rival those obtained with their BINAP counterpart.

Electron-rich, bicyclic biaryl-like KIT-PHOS monophosphines have been prepared via Diels-Alder cycloaddition between 1-alkynylphosphine oxides and anthracene in an operationally straightforward and highly modular synthetic protocol that will allow access to an architecturally and electronically diverse family of ligands. Palladium complexes of these ligands are highly efficient catalysts for the Buchwald-Hartwig amination and Suzuki-Miyaura coupling of a wide range of aryl chlorides, which for the vast majority of substrate combinations outperform their o-(dicyclohexylphosphino)biphenyl-based counterparts.