Alumina supported nanoruthenium as efficient heterogeneous catalyst for the selective H2O2 oxidation of aliphatic and aromatic sulfides to sulfoxides

Highly stable polyvinylpyrrolidone (PVP) capped ruthenium nanoparticles (RuNPs) supported on γ-Al2O3 in CH3CN serve as efficient heterogeneous catalysts for the H2O2 oxidation of sulfides into the corresponding sulfoxides in excellent yields. The synthesized catalyst I is well characterized by XRD, HRTEM, BET, H2 chemisorption, SEM–EDX, AFM, FT-IR, and UV–vis spectral techniques. The catalyst I can be recovered and reused for several cycles without loss of any activity.

Graphical abstractHighly stable Ru (PVP)/γ-Al2O3 catalyst is used for the H2O2 oxidation of sulfides into sulfoxides and the catalyst is characterized using HRTEM, XRD, SEM–EDX, AFM, FT-IR, and UV–vis spectral techniques.Figure optionsDownload full-size imageDownload high-quality image (41 K)Download as PowerPoint slideResearch highlights▶ The work presented in this manuscript involves the synthesis and characterization of ruthenium nanoparticles and their application as catalyst for sulfoxidation reactions. ▶ This appears to be the first report on the oxidation of organic sulfides using ruthenium nanoparticles as catalyst. This is a simple and efficient system for the selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides using H2O2, a green reagent, as the oxidant. ▶ Because it is a simple, convenient and novel method for the oxidation of sulfides using nanoruthenium as the catalyst. ▶ The heterogeneous catalysis on the H2O2 oxidation of sulfides in the presence of catalyst I, which is one of the most convenient, cheap and green methods for the synthesis of various sulfoxides. ▶ Aqueous H2O2 is an ideal oxidant owing to its high effective-oxygen content, cleanliness (it produces only water as by-product), and enough safety in storage and operation. Therefore, H2O2 is important as a “green” oxidizing agent.