CATALYTIC AND COMPUTER-SIMULATION STUDIES OF CARBON-SULFUR BOND-CLEAVAGE OVER ZEOLITE-Y

N-Substituted carbonimidodithioic acid dimethyl esters, when reacted with an active methylene compound such as nitromethane, undergo carbon-carbon bond formation followed by carbon-sulphur bond cleavage in the presence of zeolite catalysts to give 1-substituted amino-1-methylthio-2-nitroethanes. This carbon-sulphur bond cleavage is facilitated by the presence of rare earth cations in the zeolite-Y framework. The shape selectivity of the zeolite also plays an important role in this cleavage reaction. Force field calculations adopted for the molecules involved in the reaction indicate the geometry and conformational flexibility of these molecules. The computer-simulated model for the zeolite-Y is correlated with the conformation and shape of the reactant and product molecules to explain the variation in yields obtained in the conversion of substituted dimethyl esters.