Tungstate-exchanged Mg-Al-LDH catalyst: an eco-compatible route for the oxidation of sulfides in aqueous medium

The catalytic oxidation of sulfides selectively to sulfoxides and/or sulfones is realised for the first time with heterogeneous tungstate-exchanged Mg-Al-LDH catalyst using 30% hydrogen peroxide in aqueous media at a faster rate in quantitative yields at room temperature. The heterogeneous catalyst showed higher activity (TOF) over its homogeneous analogues and other heterogeneous catalysts reported so far. The catalyst is well characterised by various instrumental techniques such as FT-IR spectroscopy, thermal analysis (TGA and DTA), powder XRD and chemical analysis. The catalyst is reused for six cycles with consistent activity and selectivity.