Synthesis and characterization of MCM-41@AMPD@Zn as a novel and recoverable mesostructured catalyst for oxidation of sulfur containing compounds and synthesis of 5-substituted tetrazoles

In this paper we report synthesis of a heterogeneous catalyst for the first time, by anchoring a zinc complex to mesoporous silica MCM-41. The structure of functionalized MCM-41 was characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM, TEM, TGA, ICP, EDA and BET techniques. Functionalized MCM-41 (MCM-41@AMPD@Zn) exhibits excellent catalytic activity in the oxidation of various sulfides into sulfoxides in the presence of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as oxidant, oxidative coupling of thiols into disulfides at room temperature and the synthesis of 5-substituted tetrazoles from sodium acid (NaN3). The heterogeneous catalyst showed good recovery and recyclability up to 8 consecutive cycles without significant loss of its catalytic activity.