Sulfur tetrachloride explained

Sulfur tetrachloride is an inorganic compound with chemical formula SCl₄. It has only been obtained as an unstable pale yellow solid. The corresponding SF₄ is a stable, useful reagent.

Preparation and structure

It is obtained by treating sulfur dichloride with chlorine at 193 K:It melts with simultaneous decomposition above −20 °C.^[1]

Its solid structure is uncertain. It is probably the salt SCl₃⁺Cl⁻, since related salts are known with noncoordinating anions.^[2] In contrast to this tetrachloride, SF₄ is a neutral molecule.^[3]

Reactions

It decomposes above −30 °C (242 K) to sulfur dichloride and chlorine.

It hydrolyzes readily:

Sulfur tetrachloride reacts with water, producing hydrogen chloride and sulfur dioxide through the hydrolysis process. Thionyl chloride is an implied intermediate.^[4]

• Oxidized by nitric acid:

Notes and References

1. Georg Brauer: Handbuch der Präparativen Anorganischen Chemie.
2. Christian, Beverly H.; Collins, Michael J.; Gillespie, Ronald J.; Sawyer, Jeffery F. "Preparations, Raman spectra, and crystal structures of (SCl₃)(SbCl₆), (SeCl₃)(SbCl₆), (SBr_1.2Cl_1.8)(SbCl⁶), (TeCl₃)(AlCl₄) (triclinic modification), (TeCl₃)(SbF₆), (TeCl₃)(AsF₆), and (TeF₃)₂(SO₄)" Inorganic Chemistry 1986, volume 25, 777-88.
3. Goettel, J. T., Kostiuk, N. and Gerken, M. (2013), The Solid-State Structure of SF₄: The Final Piece of the Puzzle . Angew. Chem. Int. Ed., 52: 8037–8040.
4. Holleman-Wiberg, Lehrbuch der Anorganischen Chemie, 101. Auflage, de Gruyter Verlag 1995