A facile and selective procedure for oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides on silica gel supported magnesium monoperoxyphthalate (MMPP) in dichloromethane

Article abstract of DOI:10.1055/s-1997-1420

The scope of the magnesium monoperoxyphthalate (MMPP) oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides has been extended by using hydrated silica gel as a solid support in dichloromethane media. This procedure works in the presence of a number of functional groups on the sulfides, including carbonyl and alkene groups that have been known to undergo Baeyer-Villiger oxidation and epoxidation with MMPP when using more conventional procedures. To our knowledge, this is the first example of oxidation of sulfides containing a carbonyl group with MMPP in non-aqueous media without any Baeyer-Villiger reaction. The reported procedure is easy to perform, product separation is trivial and it produces excellent yields.