Thioacetic acid is typically contaminated by acetic acid.
The compound exists exclusively as the thiol tautomer, consistent with the strength of the C=O double bond. Reflecting the influence of hydrogen-bonding, the boiling point (93 °C) and melting points are 20 and 75 K lower than those for acetic acid.
Reactivity
Acidity
With a pKa near 3.4, thioacetic acid is about 15 times more acidic than acetic acid.[7] The conjugate base is thioacetate:
CH3C(O)SH → CH3C(O)S− + H+
In neutral water, thioacetic acid is fully ionized.
Reactivity of thioacetate
Most of the reactivity of thioacetic acid arises from the conjugate base, thioacetate. Salts of this anion, e.g. potassium thioacetate, are used to generate thioacetate esters.[8] Thioacetate esters undergo hydrolysis to give thiols. A typical method for preparing a thiol from an alkyl halide using thioacetic acid proceeds in four discrete steps, some of which can be conducted sequentially in the same flask:
CH3C(O)SH + NaOH → CH3C(O)SNa + H2O
CH3C(O)SNa + RX → CH3C(O)SR + NaX, where X = Cl, Br, I
^Matthys J. Janssen "Carboxylic Acids and Esters" in PATAI'S Chemistry of Functional Groups: Carboxylic Acids and Esters, Saul Patai, Ed. pp. 705–764, 1969. doi:10.1002/9780470771099.ch15
^Ervithayasuporn, V. (2011). "Synthesis and Characterization of Octakis(3-propyl ethanethioate)octasilsesquioxane". Organometallics. 30 (17): 4475–4478. doi:10.1021/om200477a.
^Synthesis of methyl 6-deoxy-4-O-(sodium sulfonato)-α-L-talopyranoside, its C-4 epimer and both isosteric [4-C-(potassium sulfonatomethyl)] derivatives László Lázár, Magdolna Csávás, Anikó Borbás, Gyöngyi Gyémánt, and András Lipták Arkivoc2004 (vii) 196-207 Link