ChemInform Abstract: Oxidation of Aryl Sulfides to Sulfones with Alumina-Supported Ruthenium Catalyst in Dimethyl Carbonate-Water Media

A new procedure for the oxidation of sulfides to sulfones utilizing heterogeneous ruthenium reagent has been developed. A small amount of ruthenium trichloride (RuCl 3 ) supported on alumina and excess sodium metaperiodate (NaIO 4 ) was used to produce the ruthenium oxidizing catalyst in the reaction mixture. Sodium metaperiodate oxidized the pre-catalyst RuCl 3 to RuO 4 and also maintained a constant supply of RuO 4 by oxidizing lower valent ruthenium ions during the course of the reaction. An environmentally friendly solvent mixture of dimethyl carbonate (DMC) and water was employed. A wide variety of aromatic sulfides were oxidized to sulfones in good to excellent yields by utilizing this procedure.