Sulfolane is a colorless, polar, water‐soluble, 4‐carbon, cyclic sulfone having exceptional chemical and thermal stability. Applications for sulfolane derive mainly from its polar solvent characteristics. It is used as a solvent or solvent component for aromatics extraction, gas treating, and extractive distillation processes, as well as a solvent for polymerizations and chemical reactions. It is also useful in plasticizer, electronic, and textile‐related specialty applications. Sulfolane is relatively chemically inert and exhibits low toxicity by all modes of administration. The chemical is available commercially in the anhydrous form or containing 3 wt % deionized water as a freezing point depressant. Other sulfones of commercial significance are also discussed. These include sulfolene, dimethyl sulfone, diiodomethyl
p
‐tolylsulfone, 4,4′‐dihydroxydiphenyl sulfone, and bis(
p
‐chlorophenyl) sulfone.