Catalytic Oxidative Removal of Dimethylsulfoxide by Hexadentate 8-Quinolinolato Manganese(III) Complexes

A series of hexadentate 8-quinolinolato manganese(III) complexes (Q3MnIII), with NH4OAc and HOAc as additives, were highly efficient catalysts for the oxidation of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) with aqueous hydrogen peroxide in an environmentally friendly acetone-water medium. The halogen substituents on the ligand improved the catalytic efficiency of Q3MnIII complexes, which was likely due to their strong distortion effect on Q3MnIII as indicated by the B3LYP/6-311G+(d) calculation. Various parameters were investigated and a reaction mechanism was proposed.