1 of 2

2 of 2

Sulfides, in which two organic groups are bonded to a sulfur atom (as in RSR′) are the sulfur analogs of ethers (ROR′). The organic groups, R and R′, may be both alkyl, both aryl, or one of each. If sulfur is simultaneously connected to different positions of the same carbon chain, a cyclic sulfide (a heterocycle) results. If no other functional group is present in the molecule, sulfides are named as such; e.g., ethyl methyl sulfide is CH₃SC₂H₅. In molecules with other functional groups of higher priority, the sulfide group is designated by thio- (as in thiodiacetic acid, HO₂CCH₂SCH₂CO₂H) or by methylthio- (as in methylthioacetic acid, CH₃SCH₂CO₂H). In saturated cyclic sulfides, the prefix thi- precedes the root associated with ring size; for example, thiirane, thietane, thiolane, and thiane for three-, four-, five-, and six-membered rings, respectively. Unsaturated cyclic sulfides, such as thiophene, which is very stable, are well known. Sulfides have low water solubility and are soluble in organic solvents. Similar to the thiols, lower-molecular-weight sulfides have strong, generally unpleasant odours. For example, allyl methyl sulfide is a major contributor to human “garlic breath.”

A variety of biologically important sulfides occur in nature. Acyclic examples include the essential amino acid methionine, which is involved in biological methyl transfer, and 2-phenylethyl methyl sulfide, C₆H₅CH₂CH₂SCH₃, 5-methylthio-2,3-pentanedione, CH₃C(O)C(O)CH₂CH₂SCH₃, and di(3-methylbutyl)sulfide, ((CH₃)₂CHCH₂CH₂)₂S, which are trail-marking secretions from the red fox, the striped hyena, and the polecat, respectively. Heterocyclic structures include, among others, the four-membered ring 2,2-dimethylthietane, from the mink; the five-membered rings from penicillin, biotin (involved in the biosynthesis of fatty acids and in carbon dioxide fixation), and thiamin (a coenzyme, as is biotin) and the terthienyl pesticide from marigold; and the six-membered ring 5-thio-d-mannose, a novel sugar having a sulfur atom in the ring instead of oxygen, isolated from an orange marine sponge, Clathria pyramida. In nature, sulfides can serve as ligands, as in cytochrome C, in which the sulfur of methionine is coordinated to the heme iron.

Most crude oils contain organosulfur compounds such as thiols, sulfides, and polysulfides, presumably formed from the reaction of hydrocarbons with elemental sulfur, in turn generated from microbial action on sulfate in rocks. As the oil ages, the thiols and sulfides are slowly converted into more stable compounds such as benzothiophene. Molybdenum-containing hydrodesulfurization catalysts are used in the removal of the undesirable sulfur compounds from petroleum, giving hydrocarbons and hydrogen sulfide as the final products. There is considerable interest in the use of monomeric and polymeric compounds made from heterocyclic sulfur compounds—such as thiophene, tetrathiafulvalene (TTF), and the bis(ethylenedithio)tetrathiafulvalene (BEDT-TTF) cation—as organic metals and superconductors (e.g., for use as switching elements and light-emitting diodes). Indeed, the 2000 Nobel Prize for Chemistry, awarded to American chemists Alan J. Heeger and Alan G. MacDiarmid and Japanese chemist Shirakawa Hideki, recognized the discovery of plastics that conduct electricity. Poly(phenylene sulfide) (PPS), a polymeric material derived from diphenyl sulfide, which has been known for more than 100 years, is used in electrical, electronic, and mechanical applications. Polythiophene conductors are of great interest for use in molecular electronic devices. Research has led to the preparation of macrocyclic α-conjugated oligothiophenes; for example, α-cyclo[12]thiophene, which has a perfect hexagonal “honeycomb” solid state structure.

Many fungicides and herbicides incorporate organically bound sulfide sulfur.

Preparation

A number of examples of syntheses of sulfides were described above as reactions of thiols. A unique synthesis of sulfides is illustrated by the reaction of ethylene with sulfur dichloride to form bis(β-chloroethyl) sulfide, known as sulfur mustard, or mustard gas, a blister-forming (vesicant) chemical warfare agent. This reaction has been applied to the synthesis of cyclic and bicyclic dichlorosulfides as well.

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