Thiourea dioxide
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| Names | |
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| Preferred IUPAC name
Amino(imino)methanesulfinic acid | |
| Other names
Thiourea dioxide, DegaFAS, Reducing Agent F, Depilor, Formamidine Sulfinic Acid
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| Identifiers | |
3D model (JSmol)
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| ChemSpider | |
| ECHA InfoCard | 100.015.598 |
PubChem CID
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| UNII | |
CompTox Dashboard (EPA)
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| Properties | |
| CH4N2O2S | |
| Molar mass | 108.12 g·mol−1 |
| Appearance | White powder |
| Melting point | 126 °C (259 °F; 399 K) |
| 3.0 g/100 mL | |
| Hazards | |
| GHS labelling: | |
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| Danger | |
| H252, H302, H315, H318, H332, H335, H373 | |
| P235+P410, P270, P280, P305+P351+P338, P310, P407, P501 | |
Except where otherwise noted, data are given for materials in their standard state (at 25 °C [77 °F], 100 kPa).
Infobox references
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Thiourea dioxide or thiox is an organosulfur compound that is used in the textile industry.[1] It functions as a reducing agent.[2] It is a white solid, and exhibits tautomerism in solution.[3]
Structure
Crystalline and gaseous thiourea dioxide adopts a C2v-symmetric structure. Selected bond lengths: S-C = 186, C-N = 130, and S-O = 149 pm. The sulfur center is pyramidal. The C-S bond length is close to that of a single bond. For comparison, the C=S bond in thiourea is 171 pm.[4][5] Instead the bonding is described with a significant contribution from a dipolar resonance structure with multiple bonding between C and N. One consequence of this bonding is the planarity of the nitrogen centers.[6] In the presence of water or DMSO, thiourea dioxide converts to the tautomer, a sulfinic acid, (H2N−)(HN=)C−S(=O)(−OH), named formamidine sulfinic acid.[6]

Synthesis
Thiourea dioxide was first prepared in 1910 by the English chemist Edward de Barry Barnett, through a method not dissimilar from the modern synthesis.[7]
Thiourea dioxide is prepared by the oxidation of thiourea with hydrogen peroxide,[8] while maintaining a pH between 3 and 5 and temperature below 10 °C:[9]
- (NH2)2CS + 2 H2O2 → (NH)(NH2)CSO2H + 2 H2O
It can also be prepared by oxidation with chlorine dioxide.[10] The quality of the product can be assessed by titration with indigo.[8]
Properties
Below pH 6.5, thiourea dioxide hydrolyzes to sulfoxylic acid and urea.[9] Further oxidation with a peracid gives the corresponding sulfonic acid.[11]
Uses
Thiourea dioxide is used in reductive bleaching in textiles.[12] Thiourea dioxide has also been used for the reduction of aromatic nitroaldehydes and nitroketones to nitroalcohols.[13]
References
- ^ Fischer, Klaus (2003). "Textile Auxiliaries". Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry. Weinheim: Wiley-VCH. doi:10.1002/14356007.a26_227. ISBN 9783527303854. OCLC 55738480. Archived from the original on 2022-06-18. Retrieved 2022-06-18.
- ^ Milne, George W. A. (11 July 2005). Gardner's Commercially Important Chemicals: Synonyms, Trade Names, and Properties. Hoboken, New Jersey, USA: Wiley-Interscience. doi:10.1002/0471736627.ch1. ISBN 9780471735182. OCLC 57392953. Archived from the original on 18 June 2022. Retrieved 18 June 2022.
- ^ Makarov, Sergei V.; Horváth, Attila K.; Silaghi-Dumitrescu, Radu; Gao, Qingyu (2014). "Recent Developments in the Chemistry of Thiourea Oxides". Chemistry – A European Journal. 20 (44): 14164–14176. doi:10.1002/chem.201403453.
- ^ Sullivan, R. A. L.; Hargreaves, A. (1962). "The Crystal and Molecular Structure of Thiourea Dioxide". Acta Crystallographica. 15 (7): 675–682. Bibcode:1962AcCry..15..675S. doi:10.1107/S0365110X62001851.
- ^ Chen, I-C.; Wang, Y. (1984). "Reinvestigation of the Structure of Thiourea S,S-Dioxide, CH4N2O2S". Acta Crystallographica. 40 (11): 1937–1938. Bibcode:1984AcCrC..40.1937C. doi:10.1107/S010827018401012X.
- ^ a b Makarov, S. V. (2001). "Recent Trends in the Chemistry of Sulfur-Containing Reducing Agents". Russian Chemical Reviews. 70 (10): 885–895. Bibcode:2001RuCRv..70..885M. doi:10.1070/RC2001v070n10ABEH000659. S2CID 250741549.
- ^ Barnett, Edward de Barry (1910) "The action of hydrogen dioxide on thiocarbamides," Archived 2020-06-06 at the Wayback Machine Journal of the Chemical Society, Transactions, 97 : 63–65.
- ^ a b D. Schubart "Sulfinic Acids and Derivatives" in Ullmann's Encyclopedia of Industrial Chemistry, 2012, Wiley-VCH, Weinheim. doi:10.1002/14356007.a25_461
- ^ a b US patent 2783272, James H. Young, "PRODUCTION OF FORMAMIDINE SULFINIC ACID", issued 1957-2-26 For the reaction's general kinetics and pH-dependence, see Hoffmann, Michael; Edwards, John O. (1977). "Kinetics and Mechanism of the Oxidation of Thiourea and N,N'-dialkylthioureas by Hydrogen Peroxide". Inorganic Chemistry. 16 (12): 3333–3338. doi:10.1021/ic50178a069.
- ^ Rábai, G.; Wang, R. T.; Kustin, Kenneth (1993). "Kinetics and mechanism of the oxidation of thiourea by chlorine dioxide" International Journal of Chemical Kinetics. Volume 25: 53–62. doi:10.1002/kin.550250106
- ^ Miller, Audrey; Palmer, David C. (15 April 2001). "Aminoiminomethanesulfonic acid". Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis. doi:10.1002/047084289X.ra091.
- ^ Hebeish, A.; El-Rafie, M. H.; Waly, A.; Moursi, A. Z. (1978). "Graft copolymerization of vinyl monomers onto modified cotton. IX. Hydrogen peroxide–thiourea dioxide redox system induced grafting of 2-methyl-5-vinylpyridine onto oxidized celluloses". Journal of Applied Polymer Science. 22 (7): 1853–1866. doi:10.1002/app.1978.070220709.
- ^ Sambher, Shikha; Baskar, Chinnappan; Dhillon, Ranjit S. (22 May 2009). "Chemoselective reduction of carbonyl groups of aromatic nitro carbonyl compounds to the corresponding nitroalcohols using thiourea dioxide". Arkivoc. 2009 (10): 141–145. doi:10.3998/ark.5550190.0010.a14. hdl:2027/spo.5550190.0010.a14.






