2,5-Dimercapto-2,5-dimethyltetrahyrothiophene was synthesized by the reaction of 1-iodopropan-2-one with hydrogen sulfide in an ether solution of hydrogen chloride at -70˚C. Its structure was established by mass spectrometry, 1 H and 13 C NMR spectroscopy.Reaction of 2,5-hexanedione with hydrogen sulfide in an ethanol solution of hydrogen chloride at -35°C gave a mixture of three compounds: 2,5-dimethylthiophene, 2-mercapto-2,5-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrothiophene, and 2,5-dimercapto-2,5-dimethyltetrahydrothiophene in yields of 33, 3, and 15% respectively [1]. According to [2] the intermediate in the formation of 2,5-dimethylthiophene is 2,5-hexanedithione, while the intermediate for the formation of 2,5-dimercapto-2,5-dimethyl-2,3-tetrahydrothiophene is 2,2,5,5-hexanetetrathiol. That 2,5-dimercapto-2,5-dimethyl-2,3-tetrahydrothiophene may be a product of intramolecular cyclization of 5,5-dimercaptohexan-2-thione was not excluded. The synthesis and possible conversions of 2,5-hexanedithione and 2,2,5,5-hexanetetrathiol have been discussed previously [3,4].In a study of the reaction of 1-iodopropan-2-one (1) with hydrogen sulfide in an ether solution of hydrogen chloride at -70°C, we established that the reaction began with the separation of iodine and the formation of 2,5-hexanedione (2), the hydrothiolysis might lead to the formation 5,5-dimercaptohexane-2-thione (3) and 2,2,5,5-hexanetetrathiol (4). 2,3-Dimercapto-2,5-dimethyltetrahydrothiophene (5) is formed in 75% yield by intramolecular cyclization of the thione (3) and tetrathiol (4) intermediates. Me I O Me O Me O Me Me S SH SH Me SH SH Me SH SH S SH Me S H Me 1 + H 2 S HCl, Et 2 O -I 2 2 H 2 S/HCl -2H 2 O + 3 4 5 __________________________________________________________________________________________