Indene is deprotonated by butyl lithium and related reagents to give the equivalent of the indenyl anion:
:CH  +  BuLi  →  LiCH  +  BuH
The resulting lithium indenide can be used to prepare indenyl complexes by salt metathesis reactions of metal halides.  When the metal halide is easily reduced, the trimethylstannylindenyl can be used as a source of indenyl anion:
:MeSnCH  +  TiCl   →   MeSnCl  +  CHTiCl
The M-C distances in indenyl complexes are comparable to those in cyclopentadienyl complexes.  For the metallocenes M(Ind), ring slipping is evident for the case of M = Co and especially Ni, but not for M = Fe.  A number of chelating or ansa-bis(indenyl complexes are known, such as those derived from 2,2'-bis(2-indenyl) biphenyl