The structural dichotomy exhibited by heterocyclic thiazenes of the type E(NSN)?E (E = CR, SR) is analyzed in the light of MNDO molecular orbital calculations on a variety of model structures. For RS(NSN),SR molecules the activation energies for inversion at sulphur have been estimated, and the formation of exo-endo and exo-exo isomers is discussed in terms of the frontier orbitals involved in the free radical and electrophilic oxidation of transannular S-S bonds.RICHARD T . OAKLEY. Can. J. Chern. 62, 2763Chern. 62, (1984.En se basant sur des calculs d'orbitales moltculaires du type MNDO, effectuCs sur une varittC de structures rnodkles, on a analysC la dichotomie de structure que prtsentent les thiazknes hCttrocycliques du type E(NSN)zE (E = CR, SR). Dans le cas des molCcules RS(NSN)?SR, on a CvaluC les Cnergies d'activation pour I'inversion au niveau du soufre et on discute de la formation des isomkres exo-endo et e.ro-exo en fonction des orbitales frontikres irnpliqukes dans les oxydations radicalaire et Clectrophile des liaisons S-S transannulaires.[Traduit par le journal] Introduction The structural diversity of binary sulphur nitride derivatives has evoked continued debate over the electronic factors which control their shape. The cage-like molecule of S4N4 has attracted the most attention (see, for example, ref. I), and the results of recent structural and theoretical (molecular orbital) studies on the protonated form S4N4H+ have illustrated how the energetic balance between different structural modifications can be shifted by a seemingly minor chemical change (2).In addition to the simple binary molecule, S4N4, a variety of heterocyclic derivatives of the type E(NSN),E have recently been synthesized and structurally characterized (E = CPh, CNMe,, PMe,, PPh,, SCI, SNMe,, SNPPh,) (3-8). The molecular structures of these derivatives fall into two distinct categories exhibiting either an essentially planar shape, e.g. 1, or a puckered conformation with a close (2.50-2.60 A) transannular sulphur-sulphur contact, e.g. 2. Although the reasons