Abstract The synthesis of salts of the type RnSH3-n+MF6- (R = C2H5, i-C3H7; n = 1, 2; M = As, Sb) by protonation of the corresponding thiols and sulfides in the superacid systems HF/MF5 is reported. The salts have been characterized by vibrational and NMR spectroscopic methods. Isopropylsulfonium hexafluoroantimonate is the first known example of a sulfonium salt, for which a SH bond distance has been determined by a crystal structure analysis, i-C3H7SH2+SbF6- crystallizes in the monoclinic space group P21/m with a = 568.0(4), b = 801.1(6), c = 1019.7(8) pm, β = 82.63(6) °, with two formula units per unit cell.