Carbon subsulfide is an organic, sulfur-containing chemical compound with the

formula In science, a formula is a concise way of expressing information symbolically, as in a mathematical formula or a ''chemical formula''. The informal use of the term ''formula'' in science refers to the general construct of a relationship betwe ...

and

structure A structure is an arrangement and organization of interrelated elements in a material object or system, or the object or system so organized. Material structures include man-made objects such as buildings and machines and natural objects such as ...

. This deep red liquid is

immiscible Miscibility () is the property of two chemical substance, substances to mix in all mixing ratio, proportions (that is, to fully dissolution (chemistry), dissolve in each other at any concentration), forming a homogeneity and heterogeneity, homoge ...

with water but soluble in

organic solvent A solvent (from the Latin '' solvō'', "loosen, untie, solve") is a substance that dissolves a solute, resulting in a solution. A solvent is usually a liquid but can also be a solid, a gas, or a supercritical fluid. Water is a solvent for p ...

s. It readily

polymerizes In polymer chemistry, polymerization (American English), or polymerisation (British English), is a process of reacting monomer molecules together in a chemical reaction to form polymer chains or three-dimensional networks. There are many form ...

at room temperature to form a hard black solid.

Synthesis and structure

C₃S₂ was discovered by , who assigned it an unsymmetrical structure. Later,

infrared Infrared (IR; sometimes called infrared light) is electromagnetic radiation (EMR) with wavelengths longer than that of visible light but shorter than microwaves. The infrared spectral band begins with the waves that are just longer than those ...

and

Raman spectroscopy Raman spectroscopy () (named after physicist C. V. Raman) is a Spectroscopy, spectroscopic technique typically used to determine vibrational modes of molecules, although rotational and other low-frequency modes of systems may also be observed. Ra ...

showed that the structure is symmetrical with a D_∞h

point group symmetry In group theory, the symmetry group of a geometric object is the group of all transformations under which the object is invariant, endowed with the group operation of composition. Such a transformation is an invertible mapping of the ambient ...

, i.e. S=C=C=C=S. This compound is analogous to

carbon suboxide Carbon suboxide, or tricarbon dioxide, is an organic, oxygen-containing chemical compound with formula and structure . Its four cumulative double bonds make it a cumulene. It is one of the stable members of the series of linear oxocarbons , wh ...

whose structure is O=C=C=C=O. Lengyel first synthesized this compound by passing

carbon disulfide Carbon disulfide (also spelled as carbon disulphide) is an inorganic compound with the chemical formula and structure . It is also considered as the anhydride of thiocarbonic acid. It is a colorless, flammable, neurotoxic liquid that is used as ...

(CS₂) vapor through an

electric arc An electric arc (or arc discharge) is an electrical breakdown of a gas that produces a prolonged electrical discharge. The electric current, current through a normally Electrical conductance, nonconductive medium such as air produces a plasma ( ...

with carbon electrodes. This treatment produced a black solution that after filtration and evaporation gave a cherry-red liquid. He determined the molecular mass by

cryoscopy Freezing-point depression is a drop in the maximum temperature at which a substance freezes, caused when a smaller amount of another, non- volatile substance is added. Examples include adding salt into water (used in ice cream makers and for ...

. Later preparations of C₃S₂ include

thermolysis Thermal decomposition, or thermolysis, is a chemical decomposition of a substance caused by heat. The decomposition temperature of a substance is the temperature at which the substance chemically decomposes. The reaction is usually endothermic ...

of a stream of CS₂ in a quartz tube heated to 900 to 1100 °C as well as flash vacuum

pyrolysis Pyrolysis is a process involving the Bond cleavage, separation of covalent bonds in organic matter by thermal decomposition within an Chemically inert, inert environment without oxygen. Etymology The word ''pyrolysis'' is coined from the Gree ...

(FVP) of 1,2-dithiole-3-thiones.

Reactions and occurrence

Among its few known reactions, C₃S₂ reacts with bromine to form the cyclic disulfide. C₃S₂ polymerizes under applied pressure to give a black semi-conducting solid. A similar pressure-induced polymerization of CS₂ also gives a black semiconducting polymer. In addition, reactions of C₃S₂ can yield highly condensed sulfur-containing compounds, e.g. the reaction of C₃S₂ with

2-aminopyridine 2-Aminopyridine is an organic compound with the formula H2NC5H4N. It is one of three isomeric aminopyridines. It is a colourless solid that is used in the production of the drugs piroxicam, sulfapyridine, tenoxicam, and tripelennamine. It is ...

. Using microwave spectroscopy, small C_nS₂ clusters have been detected in

interstellar medium The interstellar medium (ISM) is the matter and radiation that exists in the outer space, space between the star systems in a galaxy. This matter includes gas in ionic, atomic, and molecular form, as well as cosmic dust, dust and cosmic rays. It f ...

. The rotational transitions of these molecular carbon sulfides matched with the corresponding molecules.

References

{{Carbon compounds Organic compounds Foul-smelling chemicals