The tetrathionate
anion
An ion () is an atom or molecule with a net electrical charge.
The charge of an electron is considered to be negative by convention and this charge is equal and opposite to the charge of a proton, which is considered to be positive by conve ...
, , is 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 ...
oxoanion derived from the compound
tetrathionic acid, H
2S
4O
6. Two of the sulfur
atom
Every atom is composed of a nucleus and one or more electrons bound to the nucleus. The nucleus is made of one or more protons and a number of neutrons. Only the most common variety of hydrogen has no neutrons.
Every solid, liquid, gas ...
s present in the ion are in
oxidation state
In chemistry, the oxidation state, or oxidation number, is the hypothetical charge of an atom if all of its bonds to different atoms were fully ionic. It describes the degree of oxidation (loss of electrons) of an atom in a chemical compound. ...
0 and two are in oxidation state +5. Alternatively, the compound can be viewed as the
adduct
An adduct (from the Latin ''adductus'', "drawn toward" alternatively, a contraction of "addition product") is a product of a direct addition of two or more distinct molecules, resulting in a single reaction product containing all atoms of all co ...
resulting from the binding of
to
SO3. Tetrathionate is one of the
polythionates
Polythionates are oxoanions with the formula (''n'' ≥ 0). They occur naturally and are the products of redox reactions of thiosulfate. Polythionates are readily isolable, unlike the parent polythionic acids.
Preparation
Many members of the poly ...
, a family of anions with the formula
''n''(SO3)2sup>2−. Its IUPAC name is ''2-(dithioperoxy)disulfate'', and the name of its corresponding acid is ''2-(dithioperoxy)disulfuric acid''. The Chemical Abstracts Service identifies tetrathionate by the CAS Number 15536-54-6.
Formation
Tetrathionate is a product of the
oxidation
Redox (reduction–oxidation, , ) is a type of chemical reaction in which the oxidation states of substrate change. Oxidation is the loss of electrons or an increase in the oxidation state, while reduction is the gain of electrons or a ...
of
thiosulfate
Thiosulfate ( IUPAC-recommended spelling; sometimes thiosulphate in British English) is an oxyanion of sulfur with the chemical formula . Thiosulfate also refers to the compounds containing this anion, which are the salts of thiosulfuric acid, ...
, , by
iodine
Iodine is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol I and atomic number 53. The heaviest of the stable halogens, it exists as a semi-lustrous, non-metallic solid at standard conditions that melts to form a deep violet liquid at , ...
, I
2:
:2 + I
2 → + 2
I−
Structure
Tetrathionate's structure can be visualized by following three edges of a
rectangular cuboid
In geometry, a cuboid is a hexahedron, a six-faced solid. Its faces are quadrilaterals. Cuboid means "like a cube", in the sense that by adjusting the length of the edges or the angles between edges and faces a cuboid can be transformed into a cub ...
, as in the diagram below. The structure shown is the configuration of in BaS
4O
6·2H
2O and Na
2S
4O
6·2H
2O. Dihedral S–S–S–S angles approaching 90° are common in
polysulfide
Polysulfides are a class of chemical compounds containing chains of sulfur atoms. There are two main classes of polysulfides: inorganic and organic. Among the inorganic polysulfides, there are ones which contain anions, which have the general formu ...
s.
Compounds
Compounds containing the tetrathionate anion include
sodium tetrathionate, Na
2S
4O
6,
potassium tetrathionate
Potassium is the chemical element with the symbol K (from Neo-Latin '' kalium'') and atomic number19. Potassium is a silvery-white metal that is soft enough to be cut with a knife with little force. Potassium metal reacts rapidly with atmosphe ...
, K
2S
4O
6, and
barium tetrathionate dihydrate, BaS
4O
6·2H
2O.
Properties
As other species of sulfur at intermediate
oxidation state
In chemistry, the oxidation state, or oxidation number, is the hypothetical charge of an atom if all of its bonds to different atoms were fully ionic. It describes the degree of oxidation (loss of electrons) of an atom in a chemical compound. ...
, such as thiosulfate, tetrathionate can be responsible for the
pitting corrosion of
carbon steel
Carbon steel is a steel with carbon content from about 0.05 up to 2.1 percent by weight. The definition of carbon steel from the American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI) states:
* no minimum content is specified or required for chromium, coba ...
and
stainless steel.
Tetrathionate has also been found to serve as a terminal electron acceptor for ''
Salmonella enterica
''Salmonella enterica'' (formerly ''Salmonella choleraesuis'') is a rod-headed, flagellate, facultative anaerobic, Gram-negative bacterium and a species of the genus '' Salmonella''. A number of its serovars are serious human pathogens.
Epidem ...
'' serotype Typhimurium, whereas existing
thiosulfate
Thiosulfate ( IUPAC-recommended spelling; sometimes thiosulphate in British English) is an oxyanion of sulfur with the chemical formula . Thiosulfate also refers to the compounds containing this anion, which are the salts of thiosulfuric acid, ...
in the
small intestine
The small intestine or small bowel is an organ in the gastrointestinal tract where most of the absorption of nutrients from food takes place. It lies between the stomach and large intestine, and receives bile and pancreatic juice through t ...
s of mammals is oxidized by reactive oxygen species released by the immune system (mainly
NADPH oxidase
NADPH oxidase (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate oxidase) is a membrane-bound enzyme complex that faces the extracellular space. It can be found in the plasma membrane as well as in the membranes of phagosomes used by neutrophil white ...
produced
superoxide
In chemistry, a superoxide is a compound that contains the superoxide ion, which has the chemical formula . The systematic name of the anion is dioxide(1−). The reactive oxygen ion superoxide is particularly important as the product of ...
) to form tetrathionate. This aids in the growth of the bacterium, helped by the inflammatory response.
[Winter, Sebastian E. "Gut Inflammation Provides a Respiratory Electron Acceptor for Salmonella." ''Nature'', 23 Sept. 2010. Web. 28 Mar. 2013.]
See also
*
Corrosion
Corrosion is a natural process that converts a refined metal into a more chemically stable oxide. It is the gradual deterioration of materials (usually a metal) by chemical or electrochemical reaction with their environment. Corrosion engi ...
*
Dithionite
The dithionite is the oxyanion with the formula 2O4sup>2−. It is commonly encountered as the salt sodium dithionite. For historical reasons, it is sometimes called hydrosulfite, but it contains no hydrogen and is not a sulfite. The diani ...
*
Polysulfides
*
Thiosulfate
Thiosulfate ( IUPAC-recommended spelling; sometimes thiosulphate in British English) is an oxyanion of sulfur with the chemical formula . Thiosulfate also refers to the compounds containing this anion, which are the salts of thiosulfuric acid, ...
References
*
Corrosion
Sulfur oxyanions
{{corrosion-stub