Ultrasound-Promoted Oxidation of Sulfides with Hydrogen Peroxide under Catalyst-Free Conditions

Ultrasonication is an advanced approach toward achieving the aim of green chemical synthesis. In this Article, we have described the unique effect of the ultrasound in the oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides with high selectivities without any catalyst by using hydrogen peroxide as oxidant in the presence of poly(ethylene glycol) dimethylether (PEGDME(500)) as a recyclable reaction media under ultrasonic irradiation. The developed method offers a number of advantages such as clean, cost-effective synthesis, high selectivity, shorter reaction times, recyclability of the reaction medium, and mild reaction conditions. In the absence of PEGDME(500), the reaction was found to be very slow, whereas the use of acetonitrile as solvent afforded the sulfones as major products under similar reaction conditions.