The generation of the title compound (2) by the treatment of alkenyl aryl sulfoxide (1) with lithium diisopropylamide (LDA), and the reactions of 2 with methyl iodide, carbonyl compounds, and oxiranes were described.
Alkenyl aryl sulfoxides could be alkylated stereoselectively via their lithium salts to afford α-alkylated (E)-alkenyl sulfoxides. Reduction of the sulfoxides to the corresponding sulfides followed by nickel–phosphine complexes catalyzed coupling reaction with Grignard reagents gave trisubstituted olefins.