Pd(II) complexes in which 2-pyridyldiphenylphosphine (Ph(2)Ppy) chelates the Pd(II) centre have been prepared and characterized by multinuclear NMR spectroscopy and by X-ray crystallographic analysis. trans-[Pd(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(2)Cl(2)] is transformed into [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)Cl]Cl by the addition of a few drops of methanol to dichloromethane solutions, and into [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)Cl]X by addition of AgX or TlX, (X = BF(4)(-), CF(3)SO(3)(-) or MeSO(3)(-)). [Pd(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(2)(p-benzoquinone)] can be transformed into [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(MeSO(3))][MeSO(3)] by the addition of two equivalents of MeSO(3)H. Addition of further MeSO(3)H affords [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)PpyH)(MeSO(3))][MeSO(3)](2). Addition of two equivalents of CF(3)SO(3)H, MeSO(3)H or CF(3)CO(2)H and two equivalents of Ph(2)Ppy to [Pd(OAc)(2)] in CH(2)Cl(2) or CH(2)Cl(2)-MeOH affords [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)X]X, (X = CF(3)SO(3)(-), MeSO(3)(-) or CF(3)CO(2)(-)), however addition of two equivalents of HBF(4).Et(2)O affords a different complex, tentatively formulated as [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(2)]X(2). Addition of excess acid results in the clean formation of [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)PpyH)(X)]X(2). In methanol, addition of MeSO(3)H and three equivalents of Ph(2)Ppy to [Pd(OAc)(2)] affords [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(2)][MeSO(3)](2) as the principal Pd-phosphine complex. The fluxional processes occuring in these complexes and in [Pd (kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(3)Cl]X, (X = Cl, OTf) and the potential for hemilability of the Ph(2)Ppy ligand has been investigated by variable-temperature NMR. The activation entropy and enthalpy for the regiospecific fluxional processes occuring in [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(2)][MeSO(3)](2) have been determined and are in the range -10 to -30 J mol(-1) K(-1) and ca. 30 kJ mol(-1) respectively, consistent with associative pathways being followed. The observed regioselectivities of the exchanges are attributed to the constraints imposed by microscopic reversibility and the small bite angle of the Ph(2)Ppy ligand. X-Ray crystal structure determinations of trans-[Pd(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(2)Cl(2)], [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)Cl][BF(4)], [Pd(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(2)(p-benzoquinone)], trans-[Pd(kappa(1)-Ph(2)PpyH)(2)Cl(2)][MeSO(3)](2), and [Pd(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)(3)Cl](Cl) are reported. In [Pd(kappa(2)-Ph(2)Ppy)(kappa(1)-Ph(2)Ppy)Cl][BF(4)] a donor-acceptor interaction is seen between the pyridyl-N of the monodentate Ph(2)Ppy ligand and the phosphorus of the chelating Ph(2)Ppy resulting in a trigonal bipyramidal geometry at this phosphorus.