Coinage metal complexes of multidentate Pacman phosphane ligands.

We present the extension of Pacman ligands to bidentate phosphane ligands enabling them to bind metals in their sterically protected cavity. The coordination of coinage metals shows the ability of the ligand to adopt different coordination modes by distortion, of which some additionally include the imine nitrogen atoms. Besides the coordinated metal, the substitution on the phosphorus atoms influences the type of coordination.