Thimin

Thimin is a fictional organosulfur compound described in speculative chemistry literature and science fiction scenarios as a versatile ligand and building block for synthetic chemistry. In the most commonly cited models, thimin features a five-membered heterocyclic core containing sulfur with a pendant imine group, giving it both electron-donor properties and conjugation. The imagined class includes several derivatives with varying alkyl or aryl substituents, generally falling in the low molecular weight range. In typical depictions, thimin appears as a colorless to pale-yellow solid that is relatively air-stable under inert conditions but readily degrades in air or upon irradiation.

Synthesis in the fiction cites routes such as cyclization of a thioamide precursor or condensation of a thioaldehyde with an amine under acid catalysis. It is described as a moderate-to-strong ligand for transition metals, capable of stabilizing unusual oxidation states and accelerating cross-coupling or hydrofunctionalization reactions in imagined laboratories. It has also been proposed as a precursor to sulfur-containing conjugated polymers.

In discussions, thimin is sometimes presented as a benchmark for studying ligand effects on redox-active metal centers, and as a catalyst-supporting scaffold for theoretical materials science. The term is not used in established chemical nomenclature and has no verified instances in the peer-reviewed literature. See also thymine and thiamin, which share etymological roots but refer to unrelated real compounds.