Solvents (methylene chloride, ethyl alcohol, nitromethane, acetone, isopropanol, tetrahydrofuran, toluene) were acquired from VWR. Tetrahydrofuran and toluene were purified by distillation from sodium ketyl under nitrogen. Deionized water from a laboratory 18 megaohm system was used in all experiments requiring water. Norbornene, methyl iodide, triethylamine, tetrabutylammonium hexafluorophosphate, 4-bromostyrene, N-hydroxysuccinimide, 1-octadecylamine, ferrocene, vinylferrocene, 11-bromoundecene, and thiourea were obtained from Alfa Aesar, and cyclooctatetraene from Strem. Cyclooctatetraene was freed of hydroquinone stabilizer by passing over a plug of basic alumina before use. Grubbs' catalysts were purchased from Sigma-Aldrich. Vinylferrocene was also prepared by acetylation of ferrocene, followed by reduction of acetylferrocene with sodium borohydride and dehydration of the resulting alcohol with copper (II) sulfate.