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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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