Oxidative cleavage of 1, 3, 5-trithiane 1 by the thionyl chloride is promoted by a catalytic quantity of a Lewis acid like zinc bromide or aluminum chloride and results in the formation of pure thiobis (chloromethane)(2). This reagent has been successfully employed in the straightforward synthesis of a novel series of thiacrown ethers possessing methylene bridges between the heteroatoms. These molecules have chemical and physical ...