Experimental and theoretical study of a novel compound: Fluorocarbonylsulfenyl acetate, FC(O)SOC(O)CH3

The novel compound fluorocarbonylsulfenyl acetate, FC(O)SOC(O)CH3, which possesses two different carbonyl substituents attached to the SO bond, has been generated through a convenient way by gas–solid reaction between FC(O)SCl and AgOC(O)CH3. The photoelectron and mass spectra of FC(O)SOC(O)CH3 in the gas phase were recorded and assigned. With the combination of experiment, theoretical calculations, and NBO analysis, the electronic and geometrical structures of the title molecule have been investigated. The compound prefers a gauche conformation with both CO bonds syn to the SO bond as the most stable conformation. In FC(O)SOC(O)CH3, the SO bond length and the dihedral angle around SO bond for the most stable conformer are 1.662 Å and 83.0° (B3LYP/6−311++G(3df,3pd)), respectively. The outermost electrons of FC(O)SOC(O)CH3 reside in {35(nS)}−1 orbital, and the experimental first vertical potential of FC(O)SOC(O)CH3 is 10.58 eV.