Trialkylphosphines water-soluble

With strongly basic trialkylphosphines water may be oxidatively added to give cationic hydrido complexes, as in the case of the water-soluble ligand P(CH2CH2OH)3 3... 

Complexes with trialkylphosphines which are more basic and sterically less demanding than triarylphosphines are generally less active due to a lower tendency to dissociation. Ligands, as well as the polarity of the reaction medium, may also influence the nature of the active species. For example, whereas in the case of triphenylphosphine the hydrogenation cycle is initiated by a Rhra dihydride species, hydrogenations with the water-soluble analogue RhCl(tppms)3 (tppms = Ph2PC6H4S03Na) involve instead a Rh1 hydride formed by water-assisted reductive HC1 elimination (c/. monohydride complexes discussed below) ... 

No serious restrictions with regard to the oxygen-accepting organophosphanes PR j seem to apply. While triphenylphosphine is the only well-studied substrate, trialkylphosphines and the water-soluble TPPTS also work (TPPTS = tris(sodium-m-sulfonatophenyl)phosphine cf. Section 3.1.1.1). Other deoxygenation reagents have not yet been employed (e. g., silyl and thio compounds). 

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