Disulfur dinitride is the chemical compound with the formula .
Preparation and reactions
Passing gaseous
over
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
metal wool at 250–300 °C at low pressure (1mm Hg) yields cyclic . The
silver
Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...
reacts with the sulfur produced by the
thermal decomposition
Thermal decomposition, or thermolysis, is a chemical decomposition caused by heat. The decomposition temperature of a substance is the temperature at which the substance chemically decomposes. The reaction is usually endothermic as heat is re ...
of the to form
, and the resulting catalyzes the conversion of the remaining into the four-membered ring ,
:
:
An alternative uses the less explosive .
decomposes explosively above 30°C, and is shock sensitive.
It readily sublimes, and is soluble in
diethyl ether
Diethyl ether, or simply ether, is an organic compound in the ether class with the formula , sometimes abbreviated as (see Pseudoelement symbols). It is a colourless, highly volatile, sweet-smelling ("ethereal odour"), extremely flammable li ...
. Traces of water cause it to polymerize into .
In the solid state it spontaneously polymerizes forming
.
It forms adducts with Lewis acids via a nitrogen atom, e.g. , , , .
Structure and bonding
The molecule is a four-membered ring, with alternating S and N atoms. One S atom has valence 4 and the other S atom has valence 2. Both nitrogen atoms has valence 3. The molecule is almost square and planar. The S–N bond lengths are 165.1pm and 165.7pm and the bond angles are very close to 90°.
The molecule is isoelectronic with the cyclic dication and has 6π electrons.
The bonding has been investigated using a
spin-coupled valence bond method
and is described as having four framework sigma bonds, with the N atoms bearing a high negative charge and the S atoms a corresponding positive charge. Two π electrons from the sulfur atoms are coupled across the ring making the molecule overall a singlet
diradical
In chemistry, a diradical is a molecular species with two electrons occupying molecular orbitals (MOs) which are degenerate. The term "diradical" is mainly used to describe organic compounds, where most diradicals are extremely reactive and i ...
.
See also
*
Sulfur nitride Sulfur nitride may refer to a number of sulfur nitrogen compounds:
* pentasulfur hexanitride,
* tetrasulfur tetranitride,
* tetrasulfur dinitride,
* disulfur dinitride,
* polythiazyl,
* thiatetrazole,
Additionally, some unstable species are k ...
*
Tetrasulfur tetranitride
Tetrasulfur tetranitride is an inorganic compound with the formula . This gold-poppy coloured solid is the most important binary sulfur nitride, which are compounds that contain only the elements sulfur and nitrogen. It is a precursor to many S-N ...
*
Polythiazyl
*
Square planar molecular geometry
The square planar molecular geometry in chemistry describes the stereochemistry (spatial arrangement of atoms) that is adopted by certain chemical compounds. As the name suggests, molecules of this geometry have their atoms positioned at the corn ...
References
{{Nitrides
Nitrides
Four-membered rings
Sulfur–nitrogen compounds
Explosive chemicals