4,4-Dichloro-1,3-dithietane-2-one

The title compound, 4,4-dichloro-1,3-dithietane-2-one, was encountered when opening a commercial capped amber bottle labeled “thiophosgene” that had been stored in a cold room (4 °C) for decades without any special precautions. Treating it as an unknown, the structure was established by single cryst...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Tracy R. Thompson, William W. Brennessel, Erik S. Goebel, Matthew J. Turcotte, George Barany
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2025-06-01
Series:Molbank
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Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1422-8599/2025/2/M2021
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Summary:The title compound, 4,4-dichloro-1,3-dithietane-2-one, was encountered when opening a commercial capped amber bottle labeled “thiophosgene” that had been stored in a cold room (4 °C) for decades without any special precautions. Treating it as an unknown, the structure was established by single crystal X-ray analysis, and confirmed by <sup>13</sup>C NMR, FTIR, melting behavior, and elemental analysis; its behavior under several mass spectrometric conditions was also examined. The dithietane appears to be a spontaneously formed cyclodimer of thiophosgene in which exactly one (not zero, not both) of the dichloromethylene moieties has been hydrolyzed to a carbonyl function. The relative long-term stability of the hydrolyzed dimer, along with a pathway back to thiophosgene, suggests that it might serve as a storage vehicle for toxic thiophosgene. Furthermore, as noted elsewhere, the title compound reacts with nucleophiles under mild aqueous conditions, suggesting that it may be a useful probe in chemical biology.
ISSN:1422-8599