persulfurane

chemical compound

Written by

The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last updated

July 1, 2026

Quick Summary

Persulfuranes are hypervalent organosulfur compounds where sulfur has an expanded valence beyond the typical octet, reaching a dectet or dodecet. These compounds are classified as (10-S-4) for pentacoordinate sulfuranes or (12-S-6) for hexacoordinate persulfuranes, indicating the number of electrons shared by sulfur and the number of ligands, respectively. They adopt specific geometric structures, such as trigonal bipyramidal for sulfuranes, where lone pairs occupy equatorial positions. Due to their expanded valence, persulfuranes are relatively unstable and tend to extrude ligands to return to an octet state. However, some acyclic and cyclic dialkyloxysulfuranes can be stable at room temperature and are useful in organic synthesis.1

Summary created from Britannica articles using AI. AI can make mistakes, so verify using Britannica articles.

2 Britannica Sources

Ask Britannica AI about this topic

Britannica doesn't have a full article on this topic, so we've curated a list of our relevant coverage.

organosulfur compound
Sulfuranes: hypervalent organosulfur compounds
…SR₆, with six ligands, called persulfuranes, have a square bipyramidal structure and are classified as (12-S-6). The σ-sulfuranes, sulfurane S-oxides, and persulfuranes are termed hypervalent compounds because their valences are expanded beyond eight. Because of this fact, these types of compounds are relatively unstable, with the central atom seeking to…
Read More
…SR₆, with six ligands, called persulfuranes, have a square bipyramidal structure and are classified as (12-S-6). The σ-sulfuranes, sulfurane S-oxides, and persulfuranes are termed hypervalent compounds because their valences are expanded beyond eight. Because of this fact, these types of compounds are relatively unstable, with the central atom seeking to…
Read More