Dithietanes are saturated heterocyclic compounds that contain two

divalent In chemistry, the valence (US spelling) or valency (British spelling) of an element is the measure of its combining capacity with other atoms when it forms chemical compounds or molecules. Description The combining capacity, or affinity of a ...

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formul ...

atoms and two sp³-hybridized carbon centers. Two

isomer In chemistry, isomers are molecules or polyatomic ions with identical molecular formulae – that is, same number of atoms of each element – but distinct arrangements of atoms in space. Isomerism is existence or possibility of isomers. ...

s are possible for this class of

organosulfur compound Organosulfur compounds are organic compounds that contain sulfur. They are often associated with foul odors, but many of the sweetest compounds known are organosulfur derivatives, e.g., saccharin. Nature abounds with organosulfur compounds—sulf ...

1,2-Dithietanes

1,2-dithietanes, 4-membered rings where the two sulfur atoms are adjacent, are very rare. The first stable 1,2-dithietane to be reported was the so-called dithiatopazine formed by intramolecular photodimerization of a dithiocarbonyl compound. 1,2-Dithietanes are to be distinguished from 1,2-

dithiete Dithiete is an unsaturated heterocyclic compound that contains two adjacent sulfur atoms and two sp2-hybridized carbon centers. Derivatives are known collectively as dithietes or 1,2-dithietes. With 6 π electrons, 1,2-dithietes are examples of ...

s, containing two adjacent sulfur atoms and two sp²-hybridized carbon centers. Dithiatopazine

A stable 1,2-dithietane ''derivative'' is ''trans''-3,4-diethyl-1,2-dithietane 1,1-dioxide, formed by the spontaneous dimerization of the

lachrymatory agent Tear gas, also known as a lachrymator agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the early commercial aerosol, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the eye to produce tears. In ad ...

syn-propanethial-S-oxide ''syn''-Propanethial ''S''-oxide (or (''Z'')-propanethial ''S''-oxide), a member of a class of organosulfur compounds known as thiocarbonyl ''S''-oxides (formerly "sulfines"), is a volatile liquid that acts as a lachrymatory agent (triggers tea ...

, found in

onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' L., from Latin ''cepa'' meaning "onion"), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus ''Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the oni ...

Trans-3,4-diethyl-1,2-dithietane 1,1-dioxide

1,3-Dithietanes

In 1,3-dithietanes, the

atoms are non-adjacent. 1,3-Dithietane itself, a colorless, easily sublimed, crystalline, unpleasant-smelling solid with

melting point The melting point (or, rarely, liquefaction point) of a substance is the temperature at which it changes state from solid to liquid. At the melting point the solid and liquid phase exist in equilibrium. The melting point of a substance depends ...

105-106 °C, was first prepared in 1976 by reaction of bis(chloromethyl) sulfoxide with

sodium sulfide Sodium sulfide is a chemical compound with the formula Na2 S, or more commonly its hydrate Na2S·9 H2O. Both the anhydrous and the hydrated salts in pure crystalline form are colorless solids, although technical grades of sodium sulfide are gen ...

followed by THF-

borane Trihydridoboron, also known as borane or borine, is an unstable and highly reactive molecule with the chemical formula . The preparation of borane carbonyl, BH3(CO), played an important role in exploring the chemistry of boranes, as it indicated ...

reduction of the first formed 1,3-dithietane 1-oxide, as shown in the scheme below. Carbon-substituted 1,3-dithietanes are well known, with the first examples being described as early as 1872. Examples include 2,2,4,4-tetrachloro-1,3-dithietane, the photochemically-formed dimer of

thiophosgene Thiophosgene is a red liquid with the formula . It is a molecule with trigonal planar geometry. There are two reactive C–Cl bonds that allow it to be used in diverse organic syntheses. Preparation is prepared in a two-step process from carbo ...

, and tetrakis(trifluoromethyl)-1,3-dithietane, CF₃)₂CSsub>2. Synthesis of 1,3-dithietane

Oxidized forms of 1,3-dithietane are well known, although they are often not prepared from the dithietane. Examples include the so-called zwiebelanes (2,3-dimethyl-5,6-dithiabicyclo .1.1exane ''S''-oxides) from onion volatiles and 1,3-dithietane 1,1,3,3-tetraoxide, the so-called

sulfene Sulfene is an extremely reactive chemical compound with the formula H2C=SO2. It is the simplest member of the sulfenes, the group of compounds which are ''S'',''S''-dioxides of thioaldehydes and thioketones, and have the general formula R2C=SO2. ...

dimer.

References

{{Reflist Dithietanes