Tertiary benzylic mercaptan bearing gem-dimethyl substitution on the α-carbon. The bulky, electron-donating group (pKa ≈ 7.0) confers:
Sterically hindered thiol-ene click chemistry – quantitative addition to acrylates within 5 min under 365 nm LED, giving high-Tg, low-colour optical resins (nD ≈ 1.68) for 5G lenses and OLED encapsulation .
Chain-transfer/RAFT agent – enables living polymerisation of methacrylates at 60 °C; chain-end α-dimethylbenzyl group can be photo-cleaved for post-modification or block copolymer synthesis.
Masking & flavour technology – GRAS status (FEMA 4768); 0.5–2 ppm provides roasted meat/onion notes and masks off-odours in savoury formulations .
Surface functionalisation – forms densely packed SAMs on gold, lowering friction coefficient by 25 % and enhancing SERS sensitivity for mercury detection.
Synthetic intermediate – precursor to hindered benzothiazole UV-absorbers and agro-chemical thio-ethers via Cu-catalysed C–S coupling.
Store under nitrogen at 2–8 °C, away from oxidants .
