2,7-Di-tert-butylnaphtho[1,8-cd][1,2]dithiole 1,2-dioxides: thermally stable, photochemically active vic-disulfoxides.

Bulking up: The thermal barrier to rearrangement of a vic-disulfoxide is significantly increased through steric buttressing about the (O)S--S(O) bond. Whereas the title compounds represent the most thermally stable vic-disulfoxides known to date, they also undergo a novel photomediated epimerization at room temperature (see scheme).