Oxovanadium(IV) unsymmetrical Schiff base complex as an efficientcatalyst for selecive oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides with H۲O۲

Organic sulfoxides play an essential role in the synthesis of chemically useful andbiologically active compounds including drugs, flavors, germicides, and catabolismregulators. Therefore, the selective oxidation of sulfides into the corresponding sulfoxides hastaken up a great part in modern synthetic chemistry [۱]. Transition metal Schiff basecomplexes are significant and efficient homogeneous catalysts in the oxidation of organiccompounds using different oxidizing agents. Good catalytic activity and selectivity have beenreported as the main advantages of homogeneous metal complexes [۲].In this work, theoxovanadium(IV) unsymmetrical Schiff base complex (۱) was synthesized in good yieldbased on the procedure described in the literature [۳]. The synthesized complex ۱ wassuccessfully used for selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides with ۳۰% H۲O۲ at roomtemperature (Scheme۱). Good to excellent yields and use of hydrogen peroxide as a greenoxidant can be mentioned as advantages of this protocol for the oxidation of sulfides.

Keywords:

Oxo-vanadium(IV) Schiff base complex , Homogeneous catalyst , Selective oxidation , Sulfide