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Nomenclature of Sulfur Compounds

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    Nomenclature of Mercaptans

    Mercaptans can be named by naming the parent compound immediately followed by the word thiol. The -SH group can also be named as a substituent using the group name, sulfhydryl. Mercaptans can also be named by naming the carbon group as a separate word followed by the word mercaptan.

    • CH3-SH
    • methanethiol
    • sulfhydrylmethane
    • methyl mercaptan

    Try to name the following compounds using these conventions-

    sulfur1.gifJ

    sulfur2.gifJ

    Try to draw structures for the following compounds-

    • 2-sulfhydrylbutane J
    • 3-pentanethiol J

    b. A common name that you should know is...

    sulfur3.gif

    thiophenol

    - Try to name this compound in two other ways-J

    Nomenclature of Sulfides

    Sulfides can be named most readily by naming each of the two carbon groups as a separate word followed by a space and the word sulfide.

    • CH3-CH2-S-CH3
    • ethyl methyl sulfide

    Try to name the following compounds-

    sulfur4.gif J

    sulfur5.gifJ

    Try to draw structures for the following compounds-

    • 2-butyl 1-propyl sulfide J
    • ethyl phenyl sulfide J

    b. A common name that you should know is...

    sulfur6.gif

    thiophene- This compound is aromatic.

    Try to draw a structure for the following compound-

    • 2-ethenylthiophene J

    Nomenclature of Disulfides

    Disulfides can be named most readily by naming each of the two carbon groups as a separate word followed by a space and the word disulfide.

    • CH3CH2-S-S-CH2CH2CH3
    • ethyl 1-propyl disulfide

    Try to name the following compound-

    sulfur9.gif J

    Nomenclature of Sulfoxides

    Sulfoxides can be named most readily by naming each of the two carbon groups as a separate word followed by a space and the word sulfoxide.

    sulfur7.gif

    • ethyl methyl sulfoxide

    Try to name the following compound-

    sulfur10.gifJ

    Nomenclature of Sulfonic Acids

    Sulfonic acids can be named most readily by naming the carbon group as a separate word followed by the words sulfonic acid.

    sulfur8.gif

    phenyl sulfonic acid

    Try to draw a structure for the following compound-

    • 4-decylphenylsulfonic acid J

    Nomenclature of Sulfur Compounds is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Richard Banks.

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