Diphosphine derivatives of urea and thiourea

The reaction of (Me3Si)HNC(O)NH(SiMe3) or thiourea with PPh2Cl gave Ph2PHNC(E)NHPPh2(E = O I or S II) which may be oxidised at the phosphorus(III) centres to give Ph2P(E′)HNC(E)NHP(E′)Ph2(E = O, E′= O III, S IV or Se V; E = S, E′= S VI). Compound I forms simple chelate P,P′ complexes with platinum and palladium. The crystal structures of II·Me2SO IV and cis-[PdCl2{Ph2PNHCONHPPh2-P,P′}] have been determined.