A series of phosphino triazoles are disclosed, within which, the phosphorus atom is appended by one, two or three triazole motifs. Gold(I) chloride complexes of the synthesised ligands were prepared and analysed by techniques including single crystal X-ray diffraction structure determination. SambVca (2.0) was used to determine percentage buried volumes. The effectiveness of these gold(I) chloride complexes to serve as precatalysts for alkyne hydration were assessed.