Sulfones

Structural formula of the sulfones with the sulfonyl group ( marked in blue ).

Sulfones (so-called: sulfone) are a class of compounds with organically bound sulfur and oxygen with the general structural formula R ¹ -S (= O) ₂ -R ² , where R ¹ and R ^{2 are} organic radicals. The singular sulfone is often used as a trivial name for dimethyl sulfone (R ¹ = R ² = CH ₃ ). Dimethyl sulfone is an example of a symmetrical sulfone (R ¹ = R ² ). The following applies to asymmetrical sulfones: R ¹ ≠ R ² . In nature, sulfones are only of minor importance.

presentation

Sulphones can be used industrially and in the laboratory by oxidation of thioethers , e.g. B. win with hydrogen peroxide , potassium permanganate or other oxidizing agents . The corresponding sulfoxides are intermediate products.

properties

Sulphones are hardly volatile and polar compounds; they are mostly solids at room temperature. Sulphones are chemically quite stable and are difficult to oxidize and quite difficult to reduce. Hydrogen on the α- carbon are acidic due to the −M effect of the sulfone group .

Uses

Some sulfones are in use as drugs, e.g. B. the drug dapsone (4,4'-diaminodiphenyl sulfone) or sulfonal .

Individual evidence

1. ^ Albert Gossauer : Structure and reactivity of biomolecules , Verlag Helvetica Chimica Acta, Zurich, 2006, p. 235, ISBN 978-3-906390-29-1 .
2. ^ Siegfried Hauptmann : Organic Chemistry, 2nd Edition, VEB Deutscher Verlag für Grundstoffindustrie, Leipzig, 1985, pp. 479-480, ISBN 3-342-00280-8 .