1,1′-Diphosphaferrocene (1) and its 3,3′,4,4′-tetramethyl (2), 3,3′,4,4′-tetraphenyl (3), octamethyl (4), octaethyl (5) and octaphenyl derivative (6) have been investigated in terms of the suitability of 1,1′-diphosphaferrocenes as adsorbate species for fabricating self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on gold. Compounds 3 and 6 have been structurally characterised by Xray diffraction. Complexes [Au (4)