It is a green solid that is poorly soluble in organic solvents.

[1] The compound is obtained by the reaction of acetonitrile with sulfur monochloride.

The initial phases of this reaction entail chlorination of the acetonitrile.

The resulting dichloroacetonitrile undergoes cycloaddition with sulfur monochloride:[1] The cation is highly electrophilic.

Protic nucleophiles displace one chloride:[2][3] The compound was discovered by Appel et al.[4]