Keywords: Phosphorus / S ligands / Donor-acceptor systems / Density functional calculations / Group 10 elements The 2,6-bis(diphenylphosphanylsulfide)phosphinine (1) reacts with water to afford a 1,2-dihydrophosphinine oxide 5 featuring a P−H bond. Reaction of 5 with one equivalent of [Pd(COD)Cl 2 ] yields the SPS pincer-based complex 6 with a P(OH) λ 5 -phosphinine central ligand. Complex 6 has been structurally characterized. Two possible mechanisms account for the formation of 5: an intramolecular P−H to P−Pd metathesis or one based on the P=O to POH equilibrium. Methanol, ethanol or diethylamine also react with 1 to afford the corresponding P(H)(OMe) 7, P(H)(OEt) 8, and P(H)(NEt 2 ) 9 λ 5 -phosphinines. No definitive mechanism for the formation of 7−9 can be proposed since no intermediates were detected in situ by 31 P NMR spectroscopy. However, DFT calculations (at the B3LYP 6-311+G(d,p) level of theory) suggest that the conversion of 1,2-dihydrophosphinines into λ 5 -phosphinines is not viable because it involves a high activation energy. Like 5, λ 5 -phosphinines 7 and 8 react with [Pd(COD)Cl 2 ] to afford the expected palladium complexes 10 and 11. An alternative method relies on the reactivity of nucleophiles with a SPS pincer-based complex 2 featuring a P−Cl bond. (−)-Menthol and lithium diethylamide react with 2 to yield the expected P-OMen 13 and P-NEt 2 14 complexes. Both complexes have been structurally characterized. Bromonickel 18