In organic chemistry, a thial or thioaldehyde is a functional group which is similar to an aldehyde, , in which a

sulfur Sulfur (or sulphur in British English) is a chemical element with the symbol S and atomic number 16. It is abundant, multivalent and nonmetallic. Under normal conditions, sulfur atoms form cyclic octatomic molecules with a chemical formula ...

(S) atom replaces the oxygen (O) atom of the aldehyde (R represents an alkyl or aryl group). Thioaldehydes are even more reactive than thioketones. Unhindered thioaldehydes are generally too reactive to be isolated — for example,

thioformaldehyde Thioformaldehyde is the organosulfur compound with the formula CH2S. This compound is very rarely observed because it oligomerizes to 1,3,5-trithiane, which is a stable colorless compound with the same empirical formula. Despite its instability ...

, , condenses to the cyclic trimer 1,3,5-trithiane. Thioacrolein, , formed by decomposition of

allicin Allicin is an organosulfur compound obtained from garlic, a species in the family Alliaceae. It was first isolated and studied in the laboratory by Chester J. Cavallito and John Hays Bailey in 1944. When fresh garlic is chopped or crushed, the ...

from

garlic Garlic (''Allium sativum'') is a species of bulbous flowering plant in the genus ''Allium''. Its close relatives include the onion, shallot, leek, chive, Allium fistulosum, Welsh onion and Allium chinense, Chinese onion. It is native to South A ...

, undergoes a self Diels-Alder reaction giving isomeric vinyldithiins. While thioformaldehyde is highly reactive, it is found in interstellar space along with its mono- and di-deuterated isotopologues. With sufficient steric bulk, however, stable thioaldehydes can be isolated. In early work, the existence of thioaldehydes was inferred by trapping processes. For instance the reaction of with

benzaldehyde Benzaldehyde (C6H5CHO) is an organic compound consisting of a benzene ring with a formyl substituent. It is the simplest aromatic aldehyde and one of the most industrially useful. It is a colorless liquid with a characteristic almond-like odor. ...

was proposed to form thiobenzaldehyde, which forms a cycloadduct with the dithiophosphine ylides to form a ring.

References

{{Functional group Functional groups

See also

References