Evidence for the first oxidative insertion of a transition metal into a digallane(4): synthesis, structural characterisation and EPR studies of [Cp2Zr(III){Ga[N(Ar)C(H)]2}2][Li(THF)4], Ar = C6H3Pr(i)2-2,6.
Treatment of "ZrCp2" with the digallane(4), [{Ga[N(Ar)C(H)]2}2], Ar = C6H3Pri2-2,6, in the presence of excess Bu(n)Li leads to the first example of a gallyl-Group 4 complex, [Cp2Zr{Ga[N(Ar)C(H)]2}2][Li(THF)4], via an unprecedented oxidative insertion reaction; the paramagnetic complex has been characterised by X-ray crystallography and EPR spectroscopy.