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Products obtained from the oxidation of thianthrene 5-oxide, SSO, have been used to compare oxygen transfer mechanisms for three high-valent transition metals. Oxidation of SSO by benzyltriethylammonium permanganate in methylene chloride gives the corresponding sulfone, thianthrene 5,5-dioxide (SSO2), as the exclusive product. Oxidation of SSO by ruthenium tetroxide also gives SSO2 as the predominant product along with minor amounts of the disulfoxide, thianthrene 5,10-dioxide (SOSO). However, the converse is observed when chromyl chloride is used as the oxidant; SOSO is the major product. It is suggested that oxygen transfers from permanganate and ruthenium tetroxide are initiated by complexation between the central metal atom and the oxygen end of the S=O dipole, while oxidation by chromyl chloride is likely initiated by an alternative mechanism, possibly a single electron transfer.

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