Aerobic oxidation of one P atom in
cis-RuCl
2(P-P)(L
2) complexes (P-P = (
R)-BINAP (2,2'-bis(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-binaphthyl) or dppb (1,4-bis(diphenylphosphino)butane), L
2 =bipy (2,2'-bipyridine) or phen (1,10-phenanthroline)) generates species such as [RuCl(BINAPO)(L
2)]PF
6 and
cis-RuCl
2(dppbO)(L
2) containing the corresponding bis(phosphine)monoxide ligands [BINAPO = 2-(diphenylphosphinoyl)-2'-(diphenylphosphino)-1,1'-(binaphthyl), and dppbO = 1-(diphenylphosphinoyl)-4-(diphenylphosphino)butane)]. A novel coordination mode of BINAPO, involving the P
III atom, the O atom, and an
2-naphthyl interactionproximate to the oxidized P atom, is identified by X-ray crystallography.