Phosphonium ylides are used in the Wittig reaction, a method used to convert ketones and especially aldehydes to alkenes. The positive charge in these Wittig reagents is carried by a phosphorus atom with three phenyl substituents and a bond to a carbanion. Ylides can be 'stabilised' or 'non-stabilised'. A phosphonium ylide can be prepared rather straightforwardly. Typically, triphenylphosphine is allowed to react with an alkyl halide in a mechanism analogous to that of an SN2 reaction. This quaternization forms an alkyltriphenylphosphonium salt, which can be isolated or treated in situ with a strong base (in this case, butyl lithium) to form the ylide.