Trimethylsulfoxonium


Trimethylsulfoxonium is a cation with a formula 3SO+ consisting of a sulfur atom attached to three methyl groups and one oxygen atom. It has a net charge of +1.

Production

Refluxing dimethyl sulfoxide with methyl iodide can yield trimethylsulfoxonium iodide.

Reactions

Treated with sodium hydride, trimethylsulfoxonium forms dimethylsulfoxonium methylide.
Trimethylsulfoxonium can polymerise to yield polyethylene.
Copper, zinc and palladium ions in water react with trimethylsulfoxonium and sodium hydroxide to form sulfur ylide complexes.

Properties

In the chloride, the sulfur-oxygen bond length is 1.436 Å, sulfur-carbon bond is 1.742. OSC angles are 112.6°, and CSC angles are 106.2°.