Sulfonmethane
chemical compound

Sulfonmethane (sulfonomethane, sulfonal, acetone diethyl sulfone) is a chemical compound first synthesized by Eugen Baumann in 1888 and introduced as a hypnotic drug by Alfred Kast later on, but now superseded by newer and safer sedatives. Its appearance is either in colorless crystalline or powdered form. In United States, it is scheduled as a Schedule III drug in the Controlled Substances Act.
Chemistry
Sulfonal is prepared by condensing acetone with ethyl mercaptan in the presence of hydrochloric acid, the mercaptol (CH3)2C(SC2H5)2 formed being subsequently oxidized by potassium permanganate. It is also formed by the action of alcoholic potash and methyl iodide on ethylidene diethyl sulfine, CH3CH(SO2C2H5)2 (which is formed by the oxidation of dithioacetal with potassium permanganate). It crystallizes in prisms melting at 125 C, which are practically insoluble in cold water, but dissolves in 15 parts of hot water and also in alcohol and ether.
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This entry incorporates text from “Sulfonmethane” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.