Hydrozirconation is a form of hydrometalation.  Substrates for hydrozirconation are alkenes and alkynes. With terminal alkynes the terminal vinyl zirconium product is predominantly formed. Secondary reactions are nucleophilic additions, transmetalations, conjugate additions, coupling reactions, carbonylation and halogenation.
Computational studies indicate that hydrozirconation occurs from the interior portion.
When treated with one equivalent of CpZrClH, diphenylacetylene gives the corresponding alkenylzirconium as a mixture of cis and trans isomers. With two equivalents of hydride, the endproduct was a mixture of erythro and threo zircono alkanes:
In 1974 Hart and Schwartz reported that the organozirconium intermediates react with electrophiles such as hydrochloric acid, bromine and acid chlorides to give the corresponding alkane, bromoalkanes, and ketones:
The corresponding organoboron and organoaluminum compounds were already known, but these are air-sensitive and/or pyrophoric whereas organozirconium compounds are not.