Isolation and characterization of a stable 1,2-oxathietan 2-oxide (β-sultine)

Abstract

Crystalline 3,3-dimethyl-2,2-diphenyl-1,2-oxa-thietan 2-oxide (4) has been obtained from the reaction of the β-hydroxy sulphoxide (5) with N-cholorosuccinimide or SO₂Cl₂; the sultine (4) is stable at room tempera-ture for several days but decomposes quantitatively into 1,1-diphenyl-2,2-dimethylethylene and SO₂ when warmed to 30 °C in CH₂Cl₂, the half-life for the decomposition being 24 h.