Convenient, single-stage syntheses have been devised for a range of important hydride-, carbonyl-, and nitrosyl- containing triphenylphosphine complexes of the platinum metals. The reactions are performed in homogeneous, alcoholic solutions from which the required products precipitate or crystallise cleanly; sodium borohydride, aqueous formaldehyde, and N-methyl-N-nitrosotoluene-p-sulphonamide are used as convenient sources of hydride, carbonyl, and nitrosyl ligands respectively. Abstraction of hydrogen chloride to form co-ordinatively unsaturated derivatives is achieved by introduction of triethylamine to the reaction solution. New compounds prepared and characterised include [OsH4(PPh3)3] and [Ru(NO)2(PPh3)2]. The latter compound is the first well characterised dinitrosyl of ruthenium.