Sulfur Chloride

sulfur chloride [′səl·fər ′klȯr‚īd]

(inorganic chemistry)

S₂Cl₂A combustible, water-soluble, oily, fuming, amber to yellow-red liquid with an irritating effect on the eyes and lungs, boils at 138°C; used to make military gas and insecticides, in rubber substitutes and cements, to purify sugar juices, and as a chemical intermediate. Also known as sulfur subchloride.

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Sulfur Chloride 

any of the group of compounds of sulfur with chlorine that includes SCl₄, SCl₂, and S₂ Cl₂.

Sulfur monochloride (disulfur dichloride, S₂ Cl₂) is an orange-yellow liquid that emits fumes in moist air with an unpleasant, suffocating odor. It has a density of 1.709 g/cm³ (at 0°C), a melting point (mp) of - 76.5°C, and a boiling point (bp) of 137.1 °C. The compound is obtained by passing Cl₂ over molten sulfur. Sulfur monochloride is a good solvent for sulfur and is thus used mainly in the vulcanization of rubber. It is also used in the laboratory preparation of carbon dissulfide and other compounds, especially chlorides. Sulfur monochloride serves as a solvent for cryoscopic and ebulliometric determinations of molecular weight.

Sulfur dichloride (SCl₂) is a pomegranate-red liquid with a density of 1.62 g/cm³ (at 15°C), a bp of 59°C, and an mp of –46°C. Under ordinary conditions, there is significant decomposition to S and Cl₂. Sulfur dichloride is formed by passing Cl₂ through S₂ Cl₂.

Sulfur tetrachloride (trichlorosulfonium chloride, SCl₄) is a pale yellow crystalline substance that is obtained by the action of liquid Cl₂ on SCl₂. It is stable only in the solid state; upon melting, it decomposes to SCl₂ and Cl₂ (mp – 31 °C). Sulfur tetrachloride is decomposed by water to HCl and SO₂. The binary salts SCl₄·SnCl₄, SCl₄·SbCl₅, and SCl₄·AlCl₃ are significantly more stable than SCl₄ alone.