Zeolite-Controlled Photooxidations of Sulfides
sulfone, 10SO2;74 diphenyl sulfone, 11-SO2;69 benzyl phenyl
sulfide, 12;71 benzyl phenyl sulfoxide, 12-SO;71 benzyl phenyl
sulfone, 12-SO2;71 2-phenylethyl phenyl sulfide, 13;75 2-phe-
nylethyl phenyl sulfoxide, 13-SO;76 2-phenylethyl phenyl sul-
fone, 13-SO2;68 2-chloroethyl ethyl sulfide, 14;19 2-chloroethyl
ethyl sulfoxide, 14-SO;19 and ethyl vinyl sulfoxide19 are all
known and their structures are consistent with their published
physical data. NaY was purchased commercially and converted
to NaMBY as described.
Diffuse reflectance spectra of MB-zeolites were obtained on
a UV/vis/NIR spectrometer. Proton NMR spectra were ob-
tained in CDCl3 at 400.13 MHz and are referenced to TMS.
An HP-5 [30 m × 0.25 mm × 0.25 µm (length × inside
diameter × film thickness)] capillary column and a 5%
diphenyl-95% dimethyl polysiloxane (30 m × 0.32 mm × 1.0
µm) fused silica column were used.
Zeolite P h otolysis. The standard intrazeolite photooxida-
tion experiment was conducted by addition of 0.3 g of dried
NaMBY to 5 mL of hexane containing the substrate. This
mixture was then stirred for 15 min and saturated with dry
(CaCl2) oxygen gas. These samples were then irradiated for 1
h with continuous oxygen bubbling with a 600 W tungsten-
halogen lamp through a 12 M NaNO2 400-nm cutoff filter.
After irradiation the hexane-zeolite slurry is centrifuged and
the solvent decanted. The products were isolated by continuous
extraction with tetrahydrofuran for 3 h or overnight using
acetonitrile or methanol and analyzed by GC or in some cases
by proton NMR.
Tr a p p in g Stu d ies. The trapping studies were done using
the standard photolysis protocol (vide supra) in hexane slurries
using various concentrations of thiolane sulfoxide. Thiolane
sulfoxide was 100% incorporated into the zeolite at all con-
centrations used in these studies. Using 5 mL of a 0.1 M
solution of diphenyl sulfide, 11, the intrazeolite concentration
was 1.93 M, representing an average incorporation of 81% of
the sulfide from solution. Using 5 mL of a 0.05 M solution of
diphenyl sulfide, 11, the intrazeolite concentration was 1.18
M, representing an average incorporation of 99% of the sulfide
from solution. The concentrations were calculated using a void
volume of 0.21 mL in 300 mg of the zeolite. The void volume
was calculated using a value of 1.5 × 104 Å3 as the volume of
the unit cell and 12 700 as the molar mass of the NaY unit
cell. This calculation is an approximation, since solvent does
not have access into the sodalite cages and the framework also
takes up volume in the unit cell. An alternative, and perhaps
better, means of calculating the void volume is to use the
volume of the supercage (827 Å3) and multiplying by eight
supercages per unit cell. This gives a void volume of 0.095 mL
in 300 mg of the zeolite and a corresponding higher concentra-
tion of thiolane sulfoxide and Ph2S in the interior of the zeolite.
This gives slopes in Figure 7 that are 2.21 times larger (0.21
mL/0.095 mL), but since the concentrations of 11 are also 2.21
conformational flexibility in the cation-complexed per-
sulfoxide still allows adoption of the bisected conforma-
tion without severe destabilizing steric interactions.
Con clu sion
We have examined the photooxidations of a series of
sulfides in the interior of zeolite Y. Dramatic changes in
reaction efficiency and product ratios were observed.
Unfortunately, direct spectroscopic observation of in-
trazeolite singlet oxygen and other transient intermedi-
ates failed because of yet unsolved technical problems
in this heterogeneous environment. Nevertheless, very
revealing kinetic studies demonstrate that the potential
energy surfaces for sulfide photooxidations are perturbed
but not completely altered by moving the reaction from
solution into the highly charged intrazeolite environment.
The interstitial cations provide stabilization for the
pivotal persulfoxide intermediates. As a consequence of
this “complexation/stabilization”, the negative charge is
diminished on the peroxy linkage, direct attack by the
sulfide substrate is promoted, and decomposition via a
physical quenching channel is inhibited. On a practical
level, in comparison to their solution counterparts, the
reactions are more rapid in the zeolite and the product
ratios are dramatically more sensitive to traces of water.
In these photooxidations the zeolite appears to be
acting as an authentic microreaction vessel. No direct
(covalent) participation of the zeolite framework has been
detected. However, participation of the zeolite framework
has been suggested in other cases. We anticipate that as
the scope of intrazeolite mechanistic studies expand, the
factors that control a more active participation of the
zeolite supercage will be delineated.
Exp er im en ta l Section
Compounds thiolane sulfoxide, 4-SO; thiolane sulfone,
4-SO2; thiane, 5; diphenyl disulfide; thioanisole, 8; phenyl
methyl sulfoxide, 8-SO; diphenyl sulfide, 11; and diphenyl
sulfoxide, 11SO, were all obtained commercially and used
without further purification. Thiolane, 4, was obtained com-
mericially and used without further purification. The com-
pounds 4-butanal disulfide;22 thiane sulfoxide, 5-SO;63 thiane
sulfone, 5-SO2;63 hexamethylene sulfide, 6;63 hexamethylene
sulfoxide, 6-SO;63 hexamethylene sulfone, 6SO2;63 6-hexanal
disulfide;64 phenyl allyl sulfide, 7;65 phenyl allyl sulfoxide,
7-SO;66 phenyl allyl sulfone, 7-SO2;67 phenyl methyl sulfone,
8-SO2;68 phenyl ethyl sulfide, 9;69 phenyl ethyl sulfoxide,
9-SO;70 phenyl ethyl sulfone, 9-SO2;71 phenyl isopropyl sulfide,
10;72 phenyl isopropyl sulfoxide, 10-SO;73 phenyl isopropyl
times larger, this method gives the same values of kS/kSO
.
P r od u ct Ra tios a s a F u n ction of Su bstr a te Loa d in g
Levels. The plots in Figure 3 were generated by adding 300
mg of dry NaMBY ( S
) 0.01) to a hexane solution
MB
containing the sulfide substrate. The percent absorptions were
determined by monitoring the concentration of the substrate
in hexane by gas chromatography. The maximum absorption
value was attained almost immediately upon addition of the
zeolite to the hexane solution. The sulfoxide/sulfone ratios
changed slightly as a function of percent conversion. The data
in Figure 3 were generated at high conversions (27.9-98.7%;
Table S1 in Supporting Information). In general, longer
(63) Block, E.; Bazzi, A. A.; Lambert, J . B.; Wharry, S. M.; Andersen,
K. K.; Dittmer, D. C.; Patwardhan, B. H.; Smith, D. J . H. J . Org. Chem.
1980, 45, 4807-4810.
(64) Cox, J . M.; Owen, L. N. J . Chem. Soc. C 1967, 1130-1134.
(65) Furuta, K.; Ikeda, Y.; Meguriya, N.; Ikeda, N.; Yamamoto, H.
Bull. Chem. Soc. J pn. 1984, 57, 2781-2790.
(66) Ali, M. H.; Stevens, W. C. Synthesis 1997, 764-768.
(67) Schreiber, K. C. Anal. Chem. 1949, 21, 1168-1172.
(68) Pine, S. H.; Shen, G.; Bautista, J .; Sutton J r., C.; Yamada, W.;
Apodaca, L. J . Org. Chem. 1990, 55, 2234-2237.
(69) Pouchert, C. J .; Behnke, J ., Eds. The Aldrich Library of 13C
and 1H FT NMR Spectra; 1st ed.; Aldrich Chemical Co.: Milwaukee,
WI, 1993.
(70) Ali, M. H.; Bohnert, G. J . Synthesis 1998, 1238-1240.
(71) Hepworth, H.; Clapham, H. W. J . Chem. Soc. 1921, 119, 1188-
1198.
(73) Barbieri, G.; Cinquini, M.; Colonna, S.; Montanari, F. J . Chem.
Soc. C. 1968, 659.
(74) Lamothe, M.; Anderson, M. B.; Fuchs, P. L. Synth. Commun.
1991, 21, 1675-1693.
(75) Baciocchi, E.; Del Giacco, T.; Ferrero, M. L.; Rol, C.; Sebastiani,
G. V. J . Org. Chem. 1997, 62, 4015-4017.
(72) Iptieff, N.; Pines, H.; Friedman, B. S. J . Am. Chem. Soc. 1938,
60, 2731-2734.
(76) Mashraqui, S. H.; Mudaliar, C. D.; Karnik, M. A. Synth.
Commun. 1998, 28, 939-943.
J . Org. Chem, Vol. 67, No. 26, 2002 9377