The in situ thermal behavior of dialkoxy disulfides (-OSSO-) has been previously explored, however their neat thermal stability has yet to be examined. We synthesized a library of ten dibenzyloxy disulfide derivatives with various para-substituents. Each derivative was analyzed by TGA and DSC to discern molecular fragmentation. A correlation of the pattern of fragmentation to Swain and Lupton's R-value was observed. Also, DSC analysis revealed that when the para-substituent was a phenyl (i.e. bis(p-phenylbenzyloxy) disulfide), and successive runs were performed, the thermogram showed the presence of the fragmentation, and upon H-1 NMR analysis its corresponding alcohol and aldehyde were observed. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.