Evidence for the first oxidative insertion of a transition metal into a digallane(4): synthesis, structural characterisation and EPR studies of [Cp2ZrIII{Ga [N(Ar)C(H)]2}2][Li(THF)4], Ar = C6H3Pri2-2,6

Treatment of ZrCp2 with the digallane(4), [{Ga[N(Ar)C(H)]2}2], Ar = C6H3Pri2-2,6, in the presence of excess BunLi 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.