On the Reaction of Triaryl Trithioarsenites, (ArS)3As,with Octasulfur

para‐Substituted with electron donating or electron withdrawing groups triphenyl trithioarsenites, (ArS)₃As, and octasulfur in refluxing carbon disulfide or chloroform do not give the triaryl tetrathioarsenates, (ArS)₃As=S, as was claimed in the literature for tris(4‐methylphenyl) tetrathioarsenate. In some cases oxidative decomposition to As₂O₃ and disulfides ArSSAr was found. When equivalent amounts of the same esters and octasulfur were heated at 105 or 150 °C no As^V compound was detected or isolated and again some esters decomposed to As₂O₃ and disulfides. These experiments demonstrated that the aromatic trithioarsenites do not react with octasulfur, probably because they cannot open the octasulfur ring. These esters in solution react with octasulfur in the presence of a catalytic (10—20 mol%) amount of triethylamine giving disulfides, As₂O₃ and colored solids which could not be characterized.