A V(O)-Schiff-base complex on MCM-41 as an efficient, reusable, and chemoselective nanocatalyst for the oxidative coupling of thiols and oxidation of sulfides

The chemoselective oxidative coupling of thiols to disulfides and oxidation of sulfides to corresponding sulfoxides are significant procedures in organic chemistry. Therefore, we have investigated 5-nitro-salicylaldehyde Schiff-base complex of vanadium oxide on MCM-41 (V(O)-5NSA-MCM-41) as a stable, efficient, reusable, and chemoselective nanocatalyst for the synthesis of disulfide and sulfoxide derivatives using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as biocompatibility, inexpensive, and available oxidant. V(O)-5NSA-MCM-41 was characterized using various techniques such as SEM, EDS, WDX, XRD, TEM, TGA, BET, and FTIR. This catalyst can be recovered and reused several times without significant loss in catalytic activity. In addition, the recovered catalyst was characterized with several techniques, which are showing an excellent agreement with fresh catalyst before reusing. A comparison of reused and un-reused catalysts confirmed the heterogeneous nature of this catalyst.