Theoretical studies on the structure and electronic properties of aryl sulfides and sulfones

Molecular orbital calculations are reported on the structure and electronic properties of diphenyl sulfide using both semiempirical and ab initio methods. Neither the MNDO nor AM1 methods give satisfactory structures, but better results are obtained with the PM3 method. At the ab initio level, the 4-31G basis set with polarization functions on sulfur alone (4-31G/S*) gives comparable results to those obtained with the 6-31G** basis set. The corresponding bond lengths and angles at the sulfur atom of 4-aminophenyl-4′-nitrophenyl sulfide and related derivatives of diphenyl sulfone, diphenyl disulfide, and phenylthiosulfonate calculated at the 4-31 G/S* level show a good correlation with crystallographic data where available. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 66 : 141–147, 1998