The molecular and crystal structure of stable 5-methyl-2-methylsulfonyl-3-thiophenecarbonitrile oxide

A stable thiophene derivative, 5-methyi-2-methylsulfonyl-3-thiophenecarbonitrile oxide, which is active in reactions with dipolarophiles, was studied by means of X-ray structural analysis. In the crystalline state the structure includes two independent molecules with similar values of geometric and conformation parameters. The bond angle at the C atom of the nitrile oxide group is significantly different from 180°. The intramolecular distances between the C and S atoms in the nitrile oxide and sulfonyl groups are well below the equilibrium distance. The stability of the molecule is thought to be increased by electrostatic or donor-acceptor interactions between the atoms of these groups. The mutual orientation of the two independent molecules in the crystal is nearly orthogonal.Translated fromIzvestiya Akademii Nauk. Seriya Khimicheskaya, No. 4, pp. 725–727, April, 1993.