• Adds to aldehydes and ketones in the presence of base, e.g. n-BuLi, to give ?-hydroxy sulfones. Conversion of the OH to, e.g. mesylate, and elimination/desulfurative reduction with sodium amalgam provides a stereospecific route to (E)-alkenes (the Julia olefination reaction): Tetrahedron Lett., 4833 (1973); J. Chem. Soc., Perkin 1, 829 (1978):