Martin's sulfurane explained

Martin's sulfurane is the organosulfur compound with the formula Ph2S[OC(CF<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>Ph]2 (Ph = C6H5). It is a white solid that easily undergoes sublimation. The compound is an example of a hypervalent sulfur compound called a sulfurane. As such, the sulfur adopts a see-saw structure, with a lone pair of electrons as the equatorial fifth coordinate of a trigonal bipyramid, like that of sulfur tetrafluoride (SF4). The compound is a reagent in organic synthesis. One application is for the dehydration of a secondary alcohol to give an alkene:[1]

RCH(OH)CH2R' + Ph2S[OC(CF<sub>3</sub>)<sub>2</sub>Ph]2 → RCH=CHR' + Ph2SO + 2 HOC(CF3)2Ph

References

  1. Brian A.. Roden. Diphenylbis(1,1,1,3,3,3-hexafluoro-2-phenyl-2-propoxy)sulfurane. 2001. Encyclopedia of Reagents for Organic Synthesis. 10.1002/047084289X.rd409. 0471936235.