Selective Oxidation of Sulfides to Sulfoxides and Sulfones Using n-Butyltriphenylphosphonium Dichromate (BuⁿPPh₃)₂Cr₂O₇ in the Presence of Aluminium Chloride in Solution and Under Microwave Irradiation

A wide variety of sulfides are efficiently oxidized to their corresponding sulfoxides and sulfones in excellent yields using n-butyltriphenylphosphonium dichromate (BTPPDC) in the presence of aluminium chloride in acetonitrile solution and under microwave irradiation. In addition, selective oxidation of sulfides in the presence of functional groups such as a carbon–carbon double bond, ketone, oxime, aldehyde, ether, and acetal can be considered as a noteworthy advantage of this method.

Keywords:

• Dichromate
• oxidation
• sulfides
• sulfones
• sulfoxides

Acknowledgments

We are thankful to the Isfahan University Research Council for their partial support of this work.

Notes

^a Sulfide: BTPPDC: Lewis acid = 1:1.5:1.

^b Isolated yields.

^a Sulfide: BTPPDC: AlCl₃ = 1:1.5:1.

^b Isolated yields.