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Disulfide
 
 
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In chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
, a disulfide usually refers to the structural unit composed of a linked pair of sulfur atoms. The disulfide anion is S22-. The term disulfide can also refer to a chemical compound
Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a Chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical element Chemical bond together in a fixed mass ratio that can be split into simpler substances....
 that contains a disulfide center
Disulfide bond

In chemistry, a disulfide bond is a single covalent bond derived from the coupling of thiol groups. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or disulfide bridge....
, such as diphenyl disulfide
Diphenyl disulfide

Diphenyl disulfide is the chemical compound with the formula [C6H5S]2. This colorless crystalline material is often abbreviated Ph2S2....
, C6H5S-SC6H5.

Sulfur is usually assigned to the reduced oxidation number
Oxidation number

The oxidation number of a central atom in a complex is the charge that it would have if all the ligands were removed along with the electron pairs that were shared with the central atom....
 -2, described as S2- and called sulfide
Sulfide

The term sulfide refers to several types of chemical compounds containing sulfur in its lowest oxidation number of −2.Formally, "sulfide" is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2...
. It has the electron configuration of a noble gas
Noble gas

|}The noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with a very low chemical reactivity....
 (argon
Argon

Argon is a chemical element designated by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table ....
).

In disulfides, sulfur is only reduced to a state with oxidation number -1.






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In chemistry
Chemistry

Chemistry is the science concerned with the composition, structure, and properties of matter, as well as the changes it undergoes during chemical reactions....
, a disulfide usually refers to the structural unit composed of a linked pair of sulfur atoms. The disulfide anion is S22-. The term disulfide can also refer to a chemical compound
Chemical compound

A chemical compound is a Chemical substance consisting of two or more different chemical element Chemical bond together in a fixed mass ratio that can be split into simpler substances....
 that contains a disulfide center
Disulfide bond

In chemistry, a disulfide bond is a single covalent bond derived from the coupling of thiol groups. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or disulfide bridge....
, such as diphenyl disulfide
Diphenyl disulfide

Diphenyl disulfide is the chemical compound with the formula [C6H5S]2. This colorless crystalline material is often abbreviated Ph2S2....
, C6H5S-SC6H5.

Sulfur is usually assigned to the reduced oxidation number
Oxidation number

The oxidation number of a central atom in a complex is the charge that it would have if all the ligands were removed along with the electron pairs that were shared with the central atom....
 -2, described as S2- and called sulfide
Sulfide

The term sulfide refers to several types of chemical compounds containing sulfur in its lowest oxidation number of −2.Formally, "sulfide" is the dianion, S2−, which exists in strongly alkaline aqueous solutions formed from H2S or alkali metal salts such as Li2S, Na2S, and K2...
. It has the electron configuration of a noble gas
Noble gas

|}The noble gases are a group of chemical elements with very similar properties: under standard conditions, they are all odorless, colorless, monatomic gases, with a very low chemical reactivity....
 (argon
Argon

Argon is a chemical element designated by the symbol Ar. Argon has atomic number 18 and is the third element in group 18 of the periodic table ....
).

In disulfides, sulfur is only reduced to a state with oxidation number -1. Its configuration then resembles that of chlorine
Chlorine

Chlorine...
 and, like it, has the tendency to form a covalent bond with another S- ion to form a disulfide (S2)2- group. Oxygen
Oxygen

Oxygen no O2 produced; 2) O2 produced, but absorbed in oceans & seabed rock; 3) O2 starts to gas out of the oceans, but is absorbed by land surfaces and formation of ozone layer; 4-5) O2 sinks filled and the gas accumulates]]...
 can also do this; e.g. in peroxide
Peroxide

A peroxide is a compound containing an oxygen-oxygen chemical bond. The simplest stable peroxide is hydrogen peroxide. Superoxides, dioxygenyls, ozones and ozonides compound are considered separately....
s such as H2O2. In many cases, each of the two sulfur atoms in a disulfide group is covalently bonded to a carbon atom in an organic compound
Organic compound

An organic compound is any member of a large class of chemical compounds whose molecules contain carbon. For historical reasons discussed below, a few types of compounds such as carbonates, simple oxides of carbon and cyanides, as well as the allotropes of carbon, are considered Inorganic compound....
, forming a disulfide bond
Disulfide bond

In chemistry, a disulfide bond is a single covalent bond derived from the coupling of thiol groups. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or disulfide bridge....
, sometimes called a disulfide linkage or a disulfide bridge. The tendency is a bit more elaborate in the case of sulfur, which can form polysulfide
Polysulfide

Polysulfides are a class of chemical compounds containing chains of sulfur atoms. In their simplest form, polysulfides are anions with the general formula Sn2- and the structure -SSn-2S-....
s.

Some examples

  • Iron
    Iron

    Iron is a chemical element with the symbol Fe and atomic number 26. Iron is a Group 8 element and period 4 element. Iron is lustrous and silvery in color....
     disulfide (FeS2), known as the mineral
    Mineral

    A mineral is a naturally occurring solid formed through Geology processes that has a characteristic chemical composition, a highly ordered atomic structure, and specific physical properties....
     pyrite
    Pyrite

    The mineral pyrite, or iron pyrite, is an iron sulfide with the chemical formula ironsulfur2. This mineral's metallic Lustre and pale-to-normal, brass-yellow hue have earned it the nickname fool's gold due to its resemblance to gold....
    .
  • Disulfur dichloride
    Disulfur dichloride

    Disulfur dichloride is the chemical compound with the Chemical formula S2Cl2. Some alternative names for this compound are sulfur monochloride , disulphur dichloride and sulphur monochloride ....
     (S2Cl2), a distillable liquid.
  • The amino acid cystine
    Cystine

    Cystine is the amino acid dimer formed when a pair of cysteine molecules are joined by a disulfide bond. It is described by the formula 2....
  • The vitamin
    Vitamin

    A vitamin is an organic compound required as a nutrient in tiny amounts by an organism. A compound is called a vitamin when it cannot be biosynthesis in sufficient quantities by an organism, and must be obtained from the diet....
     lipoic acid
    Lipoic acid

    Lipoic acid is an organic compound, one enantiomer of which is an essential cofactor for many enzyme complexes. The molecule consists of a carboxylic acid and a cyclic Disulfide bond....
  • Diphenyl disulfide
    Diphenyl disulfide

    Diphenyl disulfide is the chemical compound with the formula [C6H5S]2. This colorless crystalline material is often abbreviated Ph2S2....
     (Ph2S2).


FeS2 unit cell
S2Cl2
cystine
lipoic acid
Ph2S2


Misnomers

Disulfide is also used to refer to compounds that contain two sulfide (S2-) centers. The compound carbon disulfide
Carbon disulfide

Carbon disulfide is a colorless, volatile liquid with the chemical formula CS2. The compound is used frequently as a building block in organic chemistry as well as an industrial and chemical non-polar solvent....
, CS2 is described with the structural formula i.e. S=C=S. This molecule is not a disulfide in the sense that it lacks a S-S bond. Similarly, molybdenum disulfide
Molybdenum disulfide

Molybdenum disulfide is the inorganic chemistry with the chemical formula MoS2. This black crystalline sulfide of molybdenum occurs as the mineral molybdenite....
, MoS2, is not a disulfide in the sense again that its sulfur atoms are not linked.

CS2
MoS2


See also


  • Disulfide bond
    Disulfide bond

    In chemistry, a disulfide bond is a single covalent bond derived from the coupling of thiol groups. The linkage is also called an SS-bond or disulfide bridge....
  • Diphenyl disulfide
    Diphenyl disulfide

    Diphenyl disulfide is the chemical compound with the formula [C6H5S]2. This colorless crystalline material is often abbreviated Ph2S2....