Synthesis of diaryl sulfides via nickel ferrite-catalysed C-S bond formation in green media

NiFe2O4 magnetic nanoparticles (MNPs) were synthesized, characterized and applied as an air-stable, inexpensive and magnetically separable nanocatalyst for the synthesis of structurally diverse sulfides. Efficient methodologies were developed for the synthesis of unsymmetric diaryl sulfides via odourless and one-pot reactions of triphenyltin chloride/S-8 or arylboronic acid/S-8 as thiolating agents with aryl halides or nitroarenes as starting materials in the presence of base (K2CO3 or NaOH) and NiFe2O4 MNPs as a catalyst in water or poly (ethylene glycol) as solvent at 80-110 degrees C. Free from ligand and the unpleasant smell of thiols and with the use of magnetically reusable nanocatalyst, green solvents and commercially available and cheap sulfur source and starting materials, these methods are more eco-friendly and practical than available protocols for the synthesis of sulfides.