Lower sulfur oxides

The lower sulfur oxides are a group of inorganic compounds with the formula S_mO_n, where m < 2n. These species are often unstable and thus rarely encountered in everyday life. They are significant intermediates in the combustion of elemental sulfur. Some well characterized examples include sulfur monoxide (SO), its dimer S₂O₂, and a series of cyclic sulfur oxides, S_nOx (x = 1, 2), based on cyclic S_n rings.