Sülfonat

Sülfonat is the Turkish term for sulfonate, referring to chemical species that contain the sulfonate moiety -SO3-. It denotes both ionic sulfonate salts of sulfonic acids (R-SO3− M+) and neutral sulfonate esters (R-O-SO2-R'). In general, sulfonates are highly polar; their behavior depends on whether the compound is an ionic salt or a neutral ester.

Ionic sulfonates include a wide range of salts formed from sulfonic acids, such as sodium benzenesulfonate (C6H5SO3Na), sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (a common surfactant), and mesylates or tosylates used in organic synthesis (for example, methanesulfonate and p-toluenesulfonate as the corresponding anions). The triflate ion (trifluoromethanesulfonate, CF3SO3−) is another well-known example, used as a very good leaving group in synthesis. These sulfonate salts are typically water-soluble and widely employed in detergents, catalysis, and as counterions.

Sulfonate esters, on the other hand, are neutral compounds formed when a sulfonyl group is bonded to an alkyl or aryl group via an oxygen atom, such as tosylates (R-OTs) and mesylates (R-OMs). These esters are important leaving groups in organic synthesis and enable transformations such as substitutions and eliminations.

Preparation broadly falls into two routes: sulfonation of arenes or aliphatic substrates with sulfuric acid or sulfur trioxide to yield sulfonic acids, followed by neutralization to salts; or conversion of alcohols to sulfonate esters using sulfonyl chlorides (e.g., MsCl, TsCl) or related reagents. Safety and handling depend on the specific sulfonate, but many are irritants and reactive as leaving groups in chemical reactions.