The voltammetric electroreduction properties of 1,2,5-thiadiazole 1,1-dioxide derivatives with different 3,4 substituents have been investigated in aprotic (mainly acetonitrile) solvent solution. The 3,4 substituents, selected according to the characteristics of their π-system, were phenanthro-9,10 (connected π-system) and acenaphtho-1,2 (fused π-system). New measurements are also presented for 3,4-diphenyl (separated π-systems). The basic properties of the substrates were investigated through voltammetry in acidic acetonitrile solutions. The substrates were more easily electroreduced (between -0.6 and -1.0 V vs. Ag/Ag+, acetonitrile solvent) than the parent (non-1,1-dioxide) heterocycles (which are electroreduced at ca. -2.5 V). They were also more easily electroreduced (by ca. 0.4 V) than the corresponding diketones (benzil, 9,10-phenanthrenequinone, and acenaphthenequinone). The influence on voltammetric behavior of the electron-withdrawing properties of the 1,2,5-thiadiazole 1,1-dioxide ring and that of the structure of the molecules was analyzed in light of previous structural studies by X-ray crystallography and theoretical chemistry calculations. Bulk electrolysis experiments in acidic acetonitrile solutions of the phenanthro[9,10-c] derivative produced its previously unreported dihydrogenated derivative (thiadiazoline), which oxidizes easily. Infrared spectroscopy data suggested that the structure of this compound differs from that of 3,4-diphenyl-1,2,5-thiadiazoline 1,1-dioxide.Key words: organic electrochemistry, 1,2,5- thiadiazoles, structure-reactivity relations.
