Aluminum Atom Activation of C-S Bonds: An EPR Study of the Intermediates Formed in the Reaction Between Aluminum Atoms and Dialkyl Sulfides.

The major mononuclear aluminum species obtained in the reaction of aluminum atoms with dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and diethyl sulfide (DES), under cryogenic conditions, are the C-S insertion products, CHAlSCH and CHCHAlSCHCH, respectively, showing that aluminum atoms can activate C-S bonds. The magnetic parameters were extracted from the EPR spectrum. Support for the spectral assignment was obtained by repeating the experiments with C-labeled dimethyl sulfide yielding CHAlSCH.