Calorimetric and computational study of 1,3-dithiacyclohexane 1,1-dioxide (1,3-dithiane sulfone).

The enthalpies of combustion and sublimation of 1,3-dithiacyclohexane 1,1-dioxide (1,3-dithiane sulfone) were measured by a rotating-bomb combustion calorimeter and the Knudsen effusion technique, and the gas-phase enthalpy of formation was determined, Delta(f)H(m)*(g) = -326.3 +/- 2.0 kJ mol(-1). Standard ab initio molecular orbital calculations at the G2(MP2) level were performed, and a theoretical study on molecular and electronic structure of the compound has been carried out. Calculated Delta(f)H(m)*(g) values agree very well with the experimental one. These experimental and theoretical studies support the relevance of the repulsive electrostatic interaction between sulfur atoms in 1,3-dithiane sulfone, that apparently counterbalances any n(S) --> rho(C-SO2)* stabilizing hyperconjugative interaction.