Sulfur Chloride

sulfur chloride

[′səl·fər ′klȯr‚īd] (inorganic chemistry) S2Cl2 A combustible, water-soluble, oily, fuming, amber to yellow-red liquid with an irritating effect on the eyes and lungs, boils at 138°C; used to make military gas and insecticides, in rubber substitutes and cements, to purify sugar juices, and as a chemical intermediate. Also known as sulfur subchloride.

Sulfur Chloride

 

any of the group of compounds of sulfur with chlorine that includes SCl4, SCl2, and S2 Cl2.

Sulfur monochloride (disulfur dichloride, S2 Cl2) is an orange-yellow liquid that emits fumes in moist air with an unpleasant, suffocating odor. It has a density of 1.709 g/cm3 (at 0°C), a melting point (mp) of - 76.5°C, and a boiling point (bp) of 137.1 °C. The compound is obtained by passing Cl2 over molten sulfur. Sulfur monochloride is a good solvent for sulfur and is thus used mainly in the vulcanization of rubber. It is also used in the laboratory preparation of carbon dissulfide and other compounds, especially chlorides. Sulfur monochloride serves as a solvent for cryoscopic and ebulliometric determinations of molecular weight.

Sulfur dichloride (SCl2) is a pomegranate-red liquid with a density of 1.62 g/cm3 (at 15°C), a bp of 59°C, and an mp of –46°C. Under ordinary conditions, there is significant decomposition to S and Cl2. Sulfur dichloride is formed by passing Cl2 through S2 Cl2.

Sulfur tetrachloride (trichlorosulfonium chloride, SCl4) is a pale yellow crystalline substance that is obtained by the action of liquid Cl2 on SCl2. It is stable only in the solid state; upon melting, it decomposes to SCl2 and Cl2 (mp – 31 °C). Sulfur tetrachloride is decomposed by water to HCl and SO2. The binary salts SCl4·SnCl4, SCl4·SbCl5, and SCl4·AlCl3 are significantly more stable than SCl4 alone.