Sulfonyl group


In organosulfur chemistry, a sulfonyl group is either a functional group found primarily in sulfones, or a substituent obtained from a sulfonic acid by the removal of the hydroxyl group, similarly to acyl groups.

Group

Sulfonyl groups can be written as having the general formula, where there are two double bonds between the sulfur and oxygen.
Sulfonyl groups can be reduced to the sulfide with diisobutylaluminium hydride. Lithium aluminium hydride reduces some but not all sulfones to sulfides.
In inorganic chemistry, when the group is not connected to any carbon atoms, it is referred to as sulfuryl.

Examples of sulfonyl group substituents

The names of sulfonyl groups typically end in -syl, such as: