Aerobic oxygenation of organic sulfides using diruthenium activators

Diruthenium compounds supported by carboxylate or mixed carboxylate/carbonate bridging ligands were found to be active catalysts for aerobic oxygenation of organic sulfides. Ru-2(OAc)(3)(CO3) (A), Ru-2(O2CCF3)(3)(CO3) (B) and Ru-2(OAc)(4)Cl (C) promote the conversion of organic sulfide to sulfoxide, and subsequently sulfone in an oxygen atmosphere at ca. 90 degrees C. The order of catalytic activity is A > B >> C. Catalytic reactions are operative in a number of 1:1 co-solvent-H2O combinations, and the highest reactivity was found in aqueous media. (C) 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.