adopts an unusual “extreme cradle” structure, with D point group symmetry. It can be viewed as a derivative of a (hypothetical) eight-membered ring (or more simply a deformed eight-membered ring) of alternating sulfur and nitrogen atoms. The pairs of sulfur atoms across the ring are separated by 2.586 Å, resulting in a cage-like structure as determined by single crystal X-ray diffraction. The nature of the transannular S–S interactions remains a matter of investigation because it is significantly shorter than the sum of the van der Waal's distances but has been explained in the context of molecular orbital theory. One pair of the transannular S atoms have valence 4, and the other pair of the transannular S atoms have valence 2. The bonding in  is considered to be delocalized, which is indicated by the fact that the bond distances between neighboring sulfur and nitrogen atoms are nearly identical.  has been shown to co-crystallize with benzene and the fullerene| molecule.