Selective and green oxidation of sulfides in water using a new iron(III) bis(phenol) amine complex supported on functionalized graphene oxide

•Iron (III) complex supported on amine-functionalized graphene oxide (GO).•The complex as a catalyst for the selective and green oxidation of sulfides in water.•Catalyst was recovered and recycled without loss of the activity and selectivity.

A new iron complex of bis(phenol) amine ligand of glycine amino acid derivative, FeLGDC supported on amine-functionalized graphene oxide (GO) nanosheets (FeLGDC -AP@GO) was synthesized. This is the first report of bis(phenol) amine complexes immobilized to a solid support. This novel catalyst was characterized by different techniques such as TEM, SEM, EDX, XRD, FT-IR, TGA, AAS, ICP-AES and Porosimetry. The results show that FeLGDC -AP@GO has layered structure incorporating FeLGDC complex by covalent attachment. FeLGDC-AP@GO was examined as a catalyst for the selective oxidation of sulfides as environmental pollutants to their corresponding sulfoxides. This reaction was performed using hydrogen peroxide as a green oxidant in water at room temperature. The recycling experiment results showed that FeLGDC -AP@GO could be easily recovered by simple filtration and recycled for several times without the loss of activity and selectivity.

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