The initial reports of these ligands as catalysts were somewhat unexpected given the mechanistic evidence for monoligated complexes serving as the active catalysts in the first-generation system. In fact, the first examples from both labs were published in the same issue of JACS.
The discovery of these ligands as catalysts was unexpected, considering the existing evidence suggesting that monoligated complexes are the active catalysts in the first-generation system. Both research groups' initial findings on this topic were published in the same issue of JACS.