A sterically hindered ketone, 2, 2, 5, 5-tetramethyl-4, 4-diphenyl-3-thiolanone (1), was synthesized in two steps starting from 2, 2, 4, 4-tetramethyl-1, 5-diphenyl-3-thiapentane-1, 5- dione. The carbonyl group of 1 is unreactive toward a series of nucleophiles which are bulkier than hydride or its equivalents. The observed unreactivity is ascribed to the steric hindrance enhanced by the two methyl groups on C-5 (“buttressing” effect). The result of ...