were carried out using standard Schlenk and glovebox techniques under
an inert atmosphere of argon. Solvents (THF, hexane, benzene, and
toluene) were dried by heating to reflux over sodium benzophenone
ketyl and distilled under nitrogen prior to use. NMR spectra were
recorded on a Bruker DPX 400 MHz spectrometer, operating at 400.13
MHz for 1H and 100.62 MHz for 13C{1H}. 1-Methylbenzimidazole, phenylacetylene, phenol, and diphenylamine
were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich Chemicals or Alfa Aesar and used
as received. 2-Picoline was dried by heating to reflux over calcium
hydride, distilled under nitrogen, and stored over activated 4 Å
molecular sieves prior to use. [Ga(CH2SiMe3)3],51 (link) ItBu,52 (link) and LiTMP53 (link) were prepared according to literature methods and stored and handled
under an inert atmosphere because of their air sensitivity (ItBu) and pyrophoricity (Ga(CH2SiMe3)3 and LiTMP).