Dialkyl, aryl–alkyl, benzylic, and benzothiophenic sul
fides are selectively oxidized to sul
foxides or sul
fones, with stoichiometric amounts o
f H
2O
2 (aq) or TBHP, in the presence o
f comple
xes Cp′Mo(CO)
3Cl, CpMoO
2Cl and the mesoporous material MCM-41-2 as catalysts. The use o
f the thianthrene 5-oxide (SSO) probe shows that CpMo(CO)
3Cl/H
2O
2 or TBHP are electrophilic oxidants (Xso
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f"" alt=""less-than-or-equals, slant"" title=""less-than-or-equals, slant"" border=""0""> 15). The same conclusion is drawn
from competition experiments with a mixture o
f p-ClC
6H
4SCH
3 and C
6H
5SOCH
3.