The fixing role of the tert-butyl group in the conformational properties of acyclic sulphur compounds. Synthesis and conformational analysis of 2-tert-butylthioderivatives of 1-phenylethanol and their ο-methyl analogs

The synthesis and conformational analysis of the title compounds are reported. The conformational equilibria have been established from 1 H-NMR data and the role of hydrogen bonding in the hydroxylated compounds has been studied by high dilution IR spectroscopy. In all of these derivatives, the bulky Bu t group blocks rotation around the C-S bond. The results for these compounds are compared with those reported for their analogous 2-methylthioderivatives. For sulphones and RR/SS sulphoxides, the possible dihedral angle deformations have also been evaluated.