Phosphorus compounds are ubiquitous in the chemical sciences, finding applications throughout industry and academia. Of particular interest to synthetic chemists are organophosphorus compounds, which contain P-C bonds. However, state-of-the-art processes for the synthesis of these important materials rely on an inefficient, stepwise methodology involving initial oxidation of white phosphorus (P 4 ) with hazardous chlorine gas and the subsequent displacement of chloride ions. Catalytic P 4 organofunctionalisation reactions have remained elusive, as they require multiple P-P bond breaking and P-C bond formation events to break down the P 4 core, all of which must occur in a controlled manner. Herein, we describe an efficient transition metalcatalyzed process capable of forming P-C bonds from P 4 . Using blue light photocatalysis, this method directly affords valuable triarylphosphines and tetraarylphosphonium salts in a single reaction step.The academic, industrial and societal importance of phosphorus chemistry is difficult to overstate. Phosphorus is one of the six essential 'biogenic elements' required in large quantities by every living organism, and synthetic phosphorus compounds find myriad industrial and commercial applications due to their diverse array of useful chemical, physical and biological properties. 1 This importance is reflected in the fact that white phosphorus (P 4 ) is currently produced on an estimated scale of >1 Mt / year. 2 P 4 is by far the most reactive and industrially-relevant form of elemental phosphorus, and acts as the common precursor from which effectively all synthetic phosphorus-containing species are ultimately Users may view, print, copy, and download text and data-mine the content in such documents, for the purposes of academic research, subject always to the full Conditions of use: