1,3,2,4-Dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfides - Examples

Examples

While several different routes to the 1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfides exist the most commonly used is the electrophilic aromatic substitution reaction of an arene with P₄S₁₀. An alternative reaction is the reaction of a thiol with P₄S₁₀ to form a substance like the Davy reagent. The Davy reagent is identical to Lawesson's reagent except in place of the para-methoxyphenyl groups it has aryl sulfide groups. While the Davy reagent is more soluble than the Lawesson's reagent it is likely that the very vile nature of the thiol starting material is likely to make the synthesis of this compound not worth the trouble. In both the patent and academic chemical literature are examples of 1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfides with higher solubilities. These highly soluble versions of Lawesson's reagent are created by the reaction of P₄S₁₀ with aryl ethers which are different from anisole. For instance butoxybenzene and 2-tert-butylanisole have both been reacted to form more soluble thionation reagents of the 1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfide class.

An important subclass of these compounds are the naphthalen-1,8-diyl 1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfides; these are intellectually interesting because the two dithiophosphine ylides are fixed together in space by the rigid naphthalene unit. The reactivity of these compounds is very different from that of 1,3,2,4-dithiadiphosphetane 2,4-disulfides.