Four bis(1‐chloro‐2,2,4,4‐tetramethyl‐3‐oxocyclobutan‐1‐yl)oligosulfanes

The four oligosulfanes, bis(1‐chloro‐2,2,4,4‐tetra­methyl‐3‐oxo­cyclo­butan‐1‐yl)­disulfane, C₁₆H₂₄Cl₂O₂S₂, (III), 1,3‐bis(1‐chloro‐2,2,4,4‐tetra­methyl‐3‐oxo­cyclo­butan‐1‐yl)­trisulfane, C₁₆H₂₄Cl₂O₂S₃, (V), 1,4‐bis(1‐chloro‐2,2,4,4‐tetra­methyl‐3‐oxo­cyclo­butan‐1‐yl)­tetrasulfane, C₁₆H₂₄Cl₂O₂S₄, (VII), and 1,6‐bis(1‐chloro‐2,2,4,4‐tetra­methyl‐3‐oxo­cyclo­butan‐1‐yl)­hexasul­fane, C₁₆H₂₄Cl₂O₂S₆, (VIII), all have similar geometric parameters, with the C—C bond lengths involving the chloro‐substituted cyclo­butanyl C atom being elongated to about 1.59 Å. There are two mol­ecules in the asymmetric units of the tri‐ and tetrasulfanes, and the mol­ecules in the latter compound have local C₂ symmetry. The mol­ecule of the hexasulfane has crystallographic C₂ symmetry. Most of the cyclo­butanyl rings are not perfectly planar and have slight but varying degrees of distortion towards a flattened tetrahedron. The polysulfane chain in each structure has a helical conformation, with each additional S atom in the chain adding approximately one quarter of a turn to the helix.