Upon irradiation in the presence of a small quantity of base, 4-substituted isothiazoles undergo photocleavage to yield substituted cyanosulfides, which can be trapped as their benzyl thioether derivatives, and substituted isocyanosulfides. Both products are suggested to arise via initial photocleavage of the sulfur-nitrogen bond, resulting in the formation of a substituted β-thioformylvinyl nitrene, which can rearrange to the observed cyanosulfide, or ...