Coordination chemistry of 2,2-bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)propionic acid

The coordination chemistry of the diphosphine ligands 2,2-bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)propionic acid, 1, and 2,2-bis(diphenylphosphinomethyl)propionate, 2, with copper(I), silver(I), gold(I), palladium(II) and platinum(II) is described. Structure determinations show that the carboxylic acid group in 1 can hydrogen bond to solvent molecules, to anions or to the carboxylic acid group of a neighboring complex, as in the complexes [MCl2(1)] · 2DMSO (M = Pd or Pt), [Pt(1)2](OTf)2 or [Pd(NCMe)2(1)](OTf)2, respectively. The tridentate diphosphine–carboxylate ligand 2 forms oligomeric or polymeric complexes, such as [{Ag(2)}n], [{PdCl(2)}n] or [{PtMe(2)}n].