Applications include, electron-deficient aromatics undergo vicarious nucleophilic substitution (VNS) reactions with the anion. Thus the molecule is equivalent to an acetonitrile anion synthon with thiophenate as the leaving group. For example, in the presence of solid NaOH in DMSO, nitrobenzene gives predominantly 4-nitrophenylacetonitrile, along with some of the 2-isomer.
