What is "carbonyl sulfide"

n. (context inorganic compound English) The mixed oxide and sulfide of carbon COS.

Carbonyl sulfide is the organic compound with the formula OCS. Commonly written as COS, it is a colourless flammable gas with an unpleasant odor. It is a linear molecule consisting of a carbonyl group double bonded to a sulfur atom. Carbonyl sulfide can be considered to be intermediate between carbon dioxide and carbon disulfide, both of which are valence isoelectronic with it.

Carbonyl sulfide decomposes in the presence of humidity and bases to carbon dioxide and hydrogen sulfide.

This compound is found to catalyze the formation of peptides from amino acids. This finding is an extension of the Miller–Urey experiment and it is suggested that carbonyl sulfide played a significant role in the origin of life.