As α-cyano carbanions may be used in many of the same contexts as α-sulfonyl anions, reductive decyanation methods offer a viable alternative to reductive desulfonylation. Dissolving metal reductions are most useful for the decyanation of tertiary nitriles (primary and secondary nitriles give the corresponding amines in addition to decyanated products), but potassium is a more general reducing agent that reduces primary, secondary, and tertiary nitriles.
A wide variety of carbonyl olefination methods that are direct alternative to the Julia olefination are known: the Wittig reaction, the Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reaction, Peterson olefination, and others. The primary advantage of Julia olefination is that the sulfone precursors are sometimes more readily available and easier to purify than the corresponding phosphorus- or silicon-containing compounds. Additionally, a variety of methods to synthesize sulfones exist. Nonetheless, the sometimes limited stereoselectivity (and in particular, the difficulty of accessing (Z) -alkenes) of the Julia reaction can be problematic. Many alternative methods for olefination, including the Peterson reaction, do not have this issue.