Divinyl sulfide


Divinyl sulfide is the organosulfur compound with the formula S2. A colorless liquid with a faint odor, it is found in some species of Allium.

Preparation

Divinyl sulfide is formed from hydrogen sulfide and acetylene. Divinylsulfide can arise when inadvertently when acetylene is generated by hydrolysis of technical-grade calcium carbide contaminated with calcium sulfide.
Divinylsulfide was first prepared in 1920 by the reaction of bissulfide with sodium ethoxide:

Monovinyl sulfides

With the formula CH2=CHSR, a variety of monovinyl sulfides are known. They can arise by the dehydrohalogenation of -2-haloethyl phenyl sulfides. One example is phenyl vinyl sulfide. Alkyl ketones react with thiols in the presence of phosphorus pentoxide to give vinyl sulfides: