Cu-SBTU@MCM-41: As an Efficient and Reusable Nanocatalyst for Selective Oxidation of Sulfides an Oxidative Coupling of Thiols

Cu(II) complex with S-benzylisothiourea ligand was grafted into functionalized mesoporous MCM-41 (Cu-SBTU@MCM-41) and characterized by X-ray Diffraction (XRD), thermal gravimetric analysis (TGA), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FT-IR) and inductively Coupled Plasma (ICP-OES) techniques. After characterization of this catalyst its application has been studied in selective oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides and oxidative coupling of thiols to disulfides using hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) as oxidant. This catalyst was shown good recyclability and reused for several consecutive runs without significant loss of its activity.