Cellulose as an efficient support for Mn(salen)Cl: application for catalytic oxidation of sulfides to sulfoxides

Abstract

Supported Mn(salen)Cl was prepared by immobilization of a homogeneous Mn(salen)Cl complex onto cellulose and characterized by FT-IR, TGA and atomic absorption spectroscopy. This heterogeneous catalyst is able to effectively catalyze the oxidation of aromatic sulfides in good yield under mild conditions. The catalytic activity of Mn(salen)Cl and [Mn(salen)Cl–cellulose] in this reaction was investigated. The heterogeneous catalyst showed higher catalytic activity with respect to the neat Mn(salen)Cl complex. The key advantages of this process are cost effectiveness of the catalyst, reusability of the catalyst and easy work-up.