“…Trimethylsilyl chloride (Gelest or Aldrich) was distilled prior to use. The compounds Hf(NMe 2 ) 4 , Me 2 C(C 5 H 5 ) 2 , Ph 3 SnH, PhLi, LiNMe 2 (from Li 0 and excess HNMe 2 ; isolated by evaporating excess HNMe 2 ), CpCp*Hf(Me)OTf ( 6 ),4a NaOMe, (THF) 3.5 LiSnPh 3 , , CpCp*Hf(H)Cl, and ClSn( p -FC 6 H 4 ) 3 were prepared according to literature procedures. The compounds CpCp*Hf(H)OMe and CpCp*Hf(H)NMe 2 were prepared by the reaction of 1 equiv of NaOMe or LiNMe 2 , respectively, with CpCp*Hf(H)Cl in THF at room temperature for 12 h. These species could not be isolated in pure form and were used as prepared.…”