Electronic and steric effects on the oxygenation of organic sulfides and sulfoxides with oxo(salen)chromium(V) complexes

The kinetics of oxygenation of several para-substituted phenyl methyl sulfides and sulfoxides with a series of 5-substituted and sterically hindered oxo(salen)chromium(V) complexes have been studied by a spectrophotometric technique. Though the reaction of sulfides follows simple second-order kinetics, sulfoxides bind strongly with the metal center of the oxidant and the oxygen atom is transferred from the oxidant-sulfoxide adduct to the substrate. The reduction potentials, E-red, of eight Cr(V) complexes correlate well with the Hammett sigma constants, and the reactivity of the metal complexes is in accordance with the E-red values. The metal complexes carrying bulky tert-butyl groups entail steric effects. Organic sulfides follow a simple electrophilic oxidation mechanism, and the nonligated sulfoxides undergo electrophilic oxidation to sulfones using the oxidant-sulfoxide adduct as the oxidant. Sulfoxides catalyze the Cr(V)-salen complexes' oxygenation of organic sulfides, and the catalytic activity of sulfoxides is comparable to pyridine N-oxide and triphenylphosphine oxide. The rate constants obtained for the oxidation of sulfides and sulfoxides clearly indicate the operation of a pronounced electronic and steric effect in the oxygenation reaction with oxo(salen)chromium(V) complexes.